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LONDON : PRINCES STREET, Sono ; 
October, 1838. 


WORKS 


MEDICINE, SURGERY, MIDWIFERY, 


AND 


. THE COLLATERAL SCIENCES 


PUBLISHED BY MR. CHURCHILL. 


NEW WORKS 
PUBLISHED, OR PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION, 


DURING THE PRESENT YEAR. 


l. , 
PRACTICAL and OPERATIVE SURGERY ; with One Hundred 


and Thirty Engravings on Wood. By Rogert Lisron, Surgeon to University 
College Hospital. 8vo. cloth, price £1 2s. Second Edition. Just ready, 


2 
ON THE NATURE and TREATMENT of STOMACH and 
URINARY DISEASES; being an Enquiry into the Connexion of Diabetes, 
Calculus, and other Affections of the Kidney and Bladder with Indigestion. 


Y Wa. Provr, M.D., F.R.S. The Third Edition, revised and much enlarged. 
reparing for immediate publication. 


oe 


THE MORBID ANATOMY of the UTERUS and its APPEN- 
DAGES. Illustrated with highly-finished Colored Plates, in Folio, from 
tawings by Mr, Perry, with descriptive letter-press. By Rozerr Lee, M.D., 


i a Lecturer on Midwifery at St. George’s Hospital; Fasciculus 1. Just 
eddy, : 


MR. CHURCHILL'S LIST OF 


4, 


SURGICAL OBSERVATIONS on TUMOURS; with CASES and 
OPERATIONS. By Joun C. Warren, M.D., Professor of Anatomy and 
Surgery in Harwood University, and Surgeon of the Massachusetts General 
Hospital; in royal 8vo., with 16 colored plates. 


*,* From the high encomiums passed upon the above work in all the English reviews, and 
the flattering opinion expressed of its merits by many of the first Surgeons, J. Churchill is 
happy to announce its early publication in this country, having made the necessary arrange- 
ments with the respected author during his recent visit to England. 


5 


PRINCIPLES of GENERAL and COMPARATIVE PHY- 
SIOLOGY ; intended as an Introduction to the Study of Human Physiology, and 
as a Guide to the Philosophical pursuit of Natural History. By Wıurram B. 
CARPENTER, M.R.C.S., late President of the Royal Medical and Royal Physical 
Societies, and Fellow of the Royal Botanical Society af Edinburgh ; Lecturer on 
Forensic Medicine in the Bristol Medical School. ` In one volume, 8vo. With 
Copper Plates and Wood Engravings. Nearly ready. 


6. 


A SYNOPSIS of the VARIOUS KINDS of DIFFICULT 
PARTURITION, with Practical Remarks on the Management of Labours. 
By SAMUEL Merriman, M.D., F.L.S. A New Edition, with additions, 8vo. 
Plates, price 12s, Nearly ready, 


Th : 
THE SURGEON'S VADE MECUM; containing the Symptoms, 


Causes, Pathology, Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Treatment of Surgical Diseases 


and Injuries. Illustrated with Wood Engravings. By Rogerr Drurrr, 
M.R.C.S. Nearly ready. 


8. 
A TREATISE on RUPTURES. By W. Lawrence, F.R.S., 


Surgeon Extraordinary to the Queen, and Surgeon to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. 
The Fifth Edition, with considerable additions, 8yo, cloth, 16s. 


9. 


_ CLINICAL LECTURES on COMPOUND FRACTURES of the 
EXTREMITIES, on Excision of the Head of the Femur, &c. &c., delivered at 
the Westminster Hospital in the Winter of 1837-8. By G. J. Gururis, F.R.S., 
Surgeon to the Hospital. 8vo, cloth, 3s, 


10. 


PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS on the PRESERVATION of 
HEALTH, and the PREVENTION of DISEASES ; comprising the Author’s 
experience on the Disorders of Childhood and Old A e. By Sin ANTHONY 
CARLISLE, F.R.S., late President of the Royal College of Surgeons, and Senior 
Surgeon to the Westminster Hospital. 8vo. cloth, price 8s. 


WORKS PUBLISHED THIS YEAR. 


ik. 
A PRACTICAL TREATISE on FRACTURES; illustrated with 


Sixty Woodcuts. By Epwarp F. Lonspstz, Demonstrator of Anatomy at the 
Middlesex Hospital School of Medicine. 8vo. price 16s. 


JEDET 
A TREATISE on the Nature and Treatment of HOOPING-COUGH, 


and its Complications; illustrated by Cases, with an Appendix, containing Hints 
on the Management of Children, with a view to render them less susceptible of 
this and other Diseases of Childhood, in an aggravated Form. By GEORGE 
Hamitton Ror, M.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and 
Physician to the Westminster Hospital. 8vo. cloth, price 8s. 


Ta: 
NOTES on the MEDICAL HISTORY and STATISTICS of the 


BRITISH LEGION of SPAIN; comprising the results of Gun-shot wounds, * 


in relation to important questions in Surgery. By RUTHERFORD Axcocr, K.TS., 
Deputy Inspector General of Hospitals, de. 8vo. price 5s. 


14, 
COUNTER-IRRITATION ; its Principles and Practice, illustrated 


by One Hundred Cases of the most painful and important Diseases effectually 


cured by External Applications. By A. B. Granviuts, M.D, F.R.S:  8vo. cloth, 


price 10s. 6d. 


15. 
THE VILLAGE PASTOR’s SURGICAL and MEDICAL GUIDE; 


in Letters from an Old Physician to a Young Clergyman, his son, on his entering 
upon the Duties of a Parish Priest. By Fenwick Sxrimsaire, M.D., Physician 
to the Peterborough Infirmary. 8vo. cloth, price 8s, 


16. ; 3 

A MANUAL of the DISEASES of the EYE; or Treatise on Oph- 
thalmology. By S. Lirrens, M.D., of Philadelphia; revised and enlarged by 
Huan Hovsron, M.R.C.S. 12mo. cloth, price 5s. 


as 
INTERMARRIAGE; or the Mode in which, and the Causes why, 


Beauty, Health, and Intellect, result from certain Unions, and Deformity, 
Disease, and Insanity from others ; demonstrated by Delineations of the Structure 
and Forms, and Descriptions of the Functions and Capacities, which each Parent, 
in every Pair, bestows on Children, in conformity with certain Natural Laws, and 
by an account of Corresponding Effects in the Breeding of Animals. Ilustrated 
by Drawings of Parents and Progeny. By ALEXANDER Wanker. 8v0. with 
Plates, 14s. cloth. 


Sen Een 


SRP EAL BTR WT LE 


ee 


MR. CHURCHILL’S LIST OF 


Mr, ATKINSON. 


MEDICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY. By James ATKINSON, Senior Sur- 
geon to the York County Hospital, and late Vice-President of the Yorkshire 
Philosophical Society. Vol. I: royal 8vo. 16s, 

“ We have never encountered so singular and remarkable a book. It unites the German 
research of a Plouquet, with the ravings of Rabelais,—the humour of Sterne with the satire 
of Democrates,—the learning of Burton with the wit of Pindar.” —Dr, Johnson’s Review. 


Mr. BATEMAN, j 
MAGNACOPIA ; a Library of Useful and Profitable Information for 


the Chemist and Druggist, Apothecary, Surgeon-Dentist, Oilman, &c., containing 
several Hundred New Forms, with Comments, anda variety of other information. 
By Wiuu14M Bateman, Practical Chemist, Second Edition. 24mo. 6s. 


«© The advantage of being as wise as one’s neighbour in matters of business tends materially 
to the augmentation of our finances. Most of the forms given in this book are so partially 
known, (and many of them not at all,) that to those engaged in selling, by wholesale or retail, 
the saving, in many instances, will be very great indeed, In fine, the practitioner, the trader, 
and the consumer, meet their right-hand friend at every page.” —Evtract from the Preface. 


Mr. BEALE. 


A TREATISE on the DISTORTIONS and DEFORMITIES of 
the HUMAN BODY ; exhibiting a concise view of the Nature and Treatment 
of the Principal Malformations and Distortions of the Chest, Spine, and Limbs. 
By Lionet J. BEALE, Esq., Surgeon. Second Edition. 8vo. with plates, 12s. 

“ We take leave of our author with every sentiment of respect, and have only to reiterate 
our favorable opinion of his work. It is at once scientific and practical, and presents a 
condensed and accurate sketch of the many points on spinal and other deformities, to 


which every man must frequently have occasion to refer in practice.”— Medical and Surgical 
Journal. 


Mr. BENOIT. 
THE BOTANIST’S POCKET COMPANION; containing a general 


outline of Botanical Science, with a view of the Linnean and Natural Systems, 


and a Description of the Medical Plants in the Chelsea Botanic Garden, By 
T.T. W. Benorr. 32mo, cloth, 1s. 6d. 


Mr. BLAINE. 


OUTLINES of the VETERINARY ART, or the PRINCIPLES of 
MEDICINE, as applied to a Knowledge of the Structure, Functions, and 
Economy of the H orse, comprehending a concise View of those of Neat Cattle 


and Sheep; the whole illustrated by Anatomical Plates. Fourth Edition, entirely 
recomposed. 8vo. £1 4s. 


Mr. SAMUEL COOPER. 
THE FIRST LINES of the PRACTICE of SURGERY ; designed 


as an Introduction for Students, and a concise Book of Reference for Practitioners. 


By Samurt Coorer, Professor of Surgery in the University of London. Sixth 
Edition, carefully corrected, and considerably improved. 8vo. 18s. 


By the same Author. 
A DICTIONARY of PRACTICAL SURGERY; comprehending all 


the most interesting improvements, from the earliest times down to the present 
period, &c. &c. Seventh Edition. In the Press. 


MEDICAL WORKS. 


Mr. CROSSE. 


A TREATISE on the FORMATION, CONSTITUENTS, and 
EXTRACTION of the URINARY CALCULUS. By Joun Green CROSSE, 
Esq., F.R.S., Surgeon to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. Being the Essay 
for which the Jacksonian Prize for 1833 was awarded by the Royal College of 
Surgeons in London. 4to., with numerous Plates, price £2 2s. plain, £2 12s. 6d, 
colored. 

‘*¥t isa work which all hospital surgeons will possess—indeed, which all surgeons who wish 
to be well acquainted with their profession should.”— Dr. Johnson’s Review. 

«< Experience and study have done their utmost for this work. We hope its circulation 
will be equal to its merits.’—Medical Quarterly Review. 


Mr. DENHAM. 


VERBA CONSILII; or, Hints to Parents who intend to bring up 
their Sons to the Medical Profession. By W. H. Dennam, F.R.C.S, 12mo, 
cloth, 3s. 6d. 


M. DUPUYTREN. 3 


A TRANSLATION of PARISET’S ELOGE upon BARON 
DUPUYTREN, with Notes. By J. T. Iniy, Surgeon. 8vo, 2s. 6d. 


Mr. EVANS, 
A CLINICAL TREATISE on the ENDEMIC FEVERS ofthe WEST 


INDIES, intended as a Guide for the Young Practitioner in those Countries. 
By W. J. Evans, M.R.C.S. 8vo. cloth, 9s. 

« We strongly recommend this work to every Medical Man who leaves the shores of Eng- 
land for the West India Islands. It is full of instruction for that class of the Profession, and 
indeed contains a great mass of materials that are interesting to the Pathologist and Practi- 
tioner of this country.”—Medico-Chirur. Review, 52. April, 1837. 


Dr. GRANVILLE. 


GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS of ABORTION and the DISEASES 
of MENSTRUATION. Consisting of Fourteen Plates, from Drawings en- 
graved and colored by Mr. J. Perry. Representing forty-five specimens of aborted 
Ova and adventitious productions of the Uterus, with preliminary observations, 
explanations of the figures, and remarks, anatomical and physiological. By 
A. B. GRANVILLE, M.D.,F.R.S. Price £2. 2s. 


s: We feel called upon to notice this work thus early on account of the extraordinary 
and unparalleled beauty of the plates. As colored productions, and in fidelity of execution, 
they certainly stand unrivalled; and the volume will prove not only an elegant and brilliant, 
but a most useful, ornament of every medical library in which it may be placed.”—Lancet. 

‘« This is really a splendid volume, and one which in an especial manner deserves the patron- 
age of the profession. The plates are beautifully executed; some of them superior, as speci- 
mens of art, to anything which has hitherto appeared in this country. This work is sold at 
what cannot be a remunerating price, especially as the number of impressions is very limited. 
** * ** As we have been under the necessity of differing much and frequently from Dr. 
Granville, it affords us pleasure on this occasion to speak in terms of unmingled commenda- 
tion.”— Medical Gazette. 


Mr. GRAY. 
A SUPPLEMENT to the PHARMACOPGIA ; being a Treatise on 


Pharmacology in general; including not only the Drugs and Compounds which 
are used by Practitioners in Medicine, but also most of those which are used in 
the Chemical Arts, or which undergo Chemical Preparations. Sixth Edition. 
8vo. 14s. 


SS 


MR. CHURCHILL’S LIST OF 


eG Sri 


AN EXPOSITION of the SYMPTOMS, ESSENTIAL NATURE, 
and TREATMENT of NEUROPATHY, or, Nervousness. By James 
M. Guiry, M.D. 8vo.'boards. 6s. 


Mr. GUTHRIE, 


ON the ANATOMY and DISEASES of the URINARY and 
SEXUAL ORGANS; being the First Part of the Lectures delivered in the 
Theatre of the Royal College of Surgeons, and in the Westminster Hospital. 
By G. J. Guturis, F.R.S. 8vo. Colored Plates. 10s. 6d. 


By the same Author. 


ON the CERTAINTY and SAFETY with which the OPERATION 
for the EXTRACTION of a CATARACT from the HUMAN EYE may be 
performed, and on the Means by which it is to be accomplished. 8vo. Qs. 6d. 


Dr. HENNEN. 
PRINCIPLES of MILITARY SURGERY ; comprising Observations 


on the Arrangement, Police, and Practice of Hospitals: and on the History, 
Treatment, and Anomalies of Variola and Syphilis. Illustrated with Cases and 
Dissections. By Joun HENNEN, M.D., F.R.S.E., Inspector of Military Hospi- 
tals. Third Edition. With Life of the Author, by his Son, Dr. Jonn HENNEN. © 
8vo. boards. 16s, 

«* The value of Dr. Hennen’s work is too well appreciated to need any praise of ours, We 
are only required, then, to bring the third edition before the notice of our readers ; and 
having done this, we shall merely add, that the volume merits a place in every library, and 
that no military surgeon ought to be without it.”—Medical Gazette. 


Sir HVERARD HOME. 


LECTURES on COMPARATIVE ANATOMY;; in which are ex- 
plained the PREPARATIONS in the HUNTERIAN COLLECTION. Six 
yols. 4to., with several hundred Plates. 

The Executors of Sir Everard Home having directed the disposal of the above 
splendid work, J. Churchill became the purchaser, and now offers it at less than 
half of the published price, the small paper for 8 guineas, published at 18 guineas ; 
the large paper for 12 guineas, published at 26 guineas. 

#,* According to Mr. Clift’s Evidence before the Committee of the House of Commons, 
this Work contains the substance and only remains of the unpublished Writings of the cele- 
brated JouN HUNTER. : 


Dr; HOOPER, 
LEXICON MEDICUM, or MEDICAL DICTIONARY ; containing 


an Explanation of the Terms in Anatomy, Physiology, Practice of Physic, Ma- 
teria-Medica, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Surgery, Midwifery, and the various Branches 
of Natural Philosophy connected with Medicine, selected, arranged, and compiled 
from the best Authors. By Roset Hoorrr, M.D, Seventh Edition, edited by 
Dr. Grant. In the Press. 


By the same Author. 

THE PHYSICIAN'S VADE MECUM; or, Manual of the Principles 
and Practice of Physic; containing the Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Prognosis, 
and Treatment of Diseases, &c. &c. New Edition, considerably enlarged, edited 
by Dr. Ryan. 7s. 6d. boards. 


MEDICAL WORKS. 


Dr. JEWEL. 


PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS on LEUCORRHGA, FLUOR 
ALBUS, or “ WEAKNESS,” with cases illustrative of a new mode of treat- 
ment. By Grorer JeweL, M.D. Physician-Accoucheur to the Royal Lying-in 
Hospital; Lecturer on Midwifery, &c. 8vo. boards. 5s. 

“ We now beg to offer Dr. Jewel our unfeigned thanks for his valuable little work. It will 
do more to alleviate human suffering and to secure happiness, than maiy brilliant discoveries : 
no mean praise.”— Medical Gazette. 


By the Same. 


LONDON PRACTICE of MIDWIFERY: including the most im- 
portant Diseases of Women and Children. Chiefly designed for the Use of Students 
and early Practitioners. With Alterations and Additions. 12mo. 6th edit, 6s, 6d. 


Mr. LAWRENCE. 


A TREATISE on the DISEASES of the EYE. By W. LAWRENCE, 
F.R.S., Surgeon to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. One thick 8vo. vol.; price 18s. 
*« We earnestly recommend this able and interesting work to the perusal of every surgeon, 
and every student of medicine.”— Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal. 
< In this work we find combined the results of the author’s own practice and observation, 


with the science and experience of the most eminent surgeons on the Continent,’’— Medical 
Gazette. 


Mr. LEE. 


OBSERVATIONS on the PRINCIPAL MEDICAL INSTITU- 
TIONS and PRACTICE of FRANCE, ITALY, and GERMANY; with Notices 
of the Universities, Cases of Hospital Practice, &c. By Epwin Ler, Esqu, for: 
merly House-Surgeon to St. George’s Hospital. 8vo. 8s. boards, 


By the same Author. 
A TREATISE on some NERVOUS DISORDERS, being chiefiy 


intended to illustrate those varieties which simulate Structural Disease. Second 
Edition; rewritten and considerably enlarged ; with an Appendix of Cases. 8vo. 75. 


iG ine estes 


AN ESSAY on LARYNGISMUS STRIDULUS, or Croup-like Iti- 
spiration of Infants. With Illustrations of the General Principles of the Pathology 
of the Nerves, and of the Functions and Diseases of the Par Vagum and its prin- 
cipal Branches. By Huen Ley, M.D., Lecturer on Midwifery at St. Bartholo- 
mew’s Hospital. 8vo. Plates. 15s. 


** One of the most important essays that has appeared in this country during the present 
century.”—Medico-Chirurgical Review. ; 
' “ Every page of the work affords proof of the uncommon industry with which Dr. Ley 
has investigated the subject in all its bearings; and, in our opinion, the original views he 
entertains of the Pathology of ‘ Laryngismus Stridulus,’ are perfectly corréct.”—British and 
Foreign Medical Review. : 


M. MAGENDIE, s 
MAGENDIE’S FORMULARY, for the Preparation and Adminis- 


tration of certain New Remedies; translated from the last French Edition, with 
Annotations and Additional Artiéles. By James Gutty, M.D. Second Edition. 
5s, 6d. boards. 


«< A work of remarkable succinctness and merit.””—British and Foreign Medical Reviews i 


MR. CHURCHILL’S LIST OF 


Dr. MACREIGHT. 
A MANUAL of BRITISH BOTANY; in which the Orders and 


Genera are arranged and described according to the Natural System of DE Can- 
DOLLE; with a Series of Analytical Tables for the assistance of the Student in the 
Examination of the Plants indigenous to, or commonly cultivated in, Great Britain. 
By D. C. Macrrieur, M.D., Lecturer on Materia Medica and Therapeutics at 
the Middlesex Hospital. Small 8vo. cloth. "s. 6d. 

“ There is a prodigious mass of elementary matter and useful information in this Pocket 
Volume.” —Medico-Chirur. Review, July, 1838. : 

«« This very elegant little volume is a most useful accession to Botanical Literature.’— 
Literary Gazette, July, 1838. 


i Mr. MAPLESON. 
A TREATISE on the ART of CUPPING, in which the History of 


that Operation is traced, the Complaints in which it is useful indicated, and the 
most approved method of performing it, described. By Tuomas Mapteson, 
Cupper to his Majesty. A new Edition, improved. 12mo, boards, 4s. 


Mr. MAYO. 
OUTLINES of HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY. Fourth Edition, with 


numerous Engravings on Wood. By HERBERT Mayo, F.R.S., Surgeon to the 
Middlesex Hospital. 8vo. cloth, 18s, 


MEDICAL BOTANY, 


Now compere in three handsome royal 8vo. vols., illustrated by two hundred 
Engravings, beautifully drawn and colored from nature, price Six Guineas, 
done up in cloth and lettered 5 : 


MEDICAL BOTANY ; or, ILLUSTRATIONS and DESCRIP- 
TIONS of the MEDICINAL PLANTS of the London, Edinburgh, and Dublin 
Pharmacopeeias ; comprising a popular and scientific account of poisonous vegeta- 
bles, indigenous to Great Britain. By Jonn STEPHENSON, M.D., F.L.S., and 
James Morss Cnurcuriu, F.L.S. New Edition, edited by GILBERT Borverr, 
F.LS., &c. &c., Professor of Botany in King’s College, London. 


“ So high is our opinion of this work, that we recommend every student at college, and 


every surgeon who goes abroad, to have a copy, as one of the essential constituents of his 
library.” — Dr. Johnson’s Medico-Chirurgical Review, No. 41. 


« The price is amazingly moderate, and the work deserving of every encouragement,.”— 
Medical Gazette, 


<“ The authors of Medical Botany have amply redeemed the pledge which their first num- 
ber imposed on them. The work forms a complete and valuable system of Toxicology and 


Materia Medica. It will prove a valuable addition to the libraries of medical practitioners 
and general readers,”— Lancet. 


<< The figures are equal, if not superior, to those of any other botanical periodical,» 
Loudon’s Gardener's Mag. 


Mr.‘ OLIVER. 
THE STUDENT'S COMPANION to APOTHECARIES’ HALL, 


or the London Pharmacopeia of 1836, in Question and Answer, By Epwarp 
Ouiver, M.R.C.S. 24mo. cloth. 4s, 


M. RAYER. 
A TREATISE on DISEASES of the SKIN. By P. Rayzr, D.M.P. 


Translated from the French, by WiıLuram B. Dickenson, Esq., Member of the 
Royal College of Surgeons, 8yo, price 12s. 

<< We can recommend the present translation of Rayer’s 
at the bedside of the patient.”—Lancet. 


£“ The translation of Rayer has conferred a great obligation on the science of medicine in 
England.”—Medical and Surgical Journal. 


Treatise as an excellent companion 


-MEDICAL WORKS, 


Dr. REID. 
A MANUAL of PRACTICAL MIDWIFERY, containing a De- 


scription of Natural and Difficult Labours, with their Management. Intended 
chiefly as a book of reference for Students and Junior Practitioners. By James 
Rei, M.D., Surgeon and Medical Superintendent to the Parochial Infirmary 
of St. Giles and St. George, Bloomsbury, and formerly House Surgeon to the 
General Lying-in Hospital. . 5s. 6d. with Engravings. 

“< The relative diameters of the pelvis and the fetal head, and the different presentations 
of the child, are all usefully represented by wood engravings among the letter-press, and the 
book is thus particularly well calculated to effect the objects of such a work.”—Lancet, 


Dr. RYAN. 
THE MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL PHARMACOPGEIA ; or, a Con- 


spectus of the best Prescriptions ; containing an account of all New Medicines, 
Doses; &c.; Magendie’s and Lugol’s Formularies; the Improvements in the 
London Pharmacopeia. New Nomenclature ; the Treatment of Poisoning, 
Dislocations, Fractures, and natural and difficult Parturition. By MICHAEL Ryan, 
M.D., Member of the Royal College of Physicians. Second Edition, 3s. 6d. 
cloth. à 

« A vast mass of information in this little work, all useful at the bedside of sickness, or in 
the short hour of leisure from professional toils and anxieties.”—D», Johnson’s Review, July, 
1838. 


Mr. SAVORY. 
A COMPANION to the MEDICINE CHEST ; or, Plain Directions 


for the Employment of the various Medicines used in Domestic Medicine. To 
which are added, a brief Description of the Symptoms and Treatment of Diseases ; 
Directions for Restoring Suspended Animation, and for Counteracting the Effects 
of Poisons; a Selection of Prescriptions of established Efficacy, &c. Intended 
as a source of easy reference for Clergymen, Master Mariners, and Passengers ; 
and for Families at a distance from Professional Assistance. By Joun Savory, 
Member of the Society of Apothecaries. 4s. neatly bound, 

<e This is a very excellent and most useful little work from a highly respectable quarter. It 
will be found extremely useful in families.” — Literary Gazette. 


‘Mr. SHAW. 
THE MEDICAL REMEMBRANCER ; or, Practical Pocket Guide, 


concisely pointing ont the Treatment to be adopted in the first Moments of 
Danger from Potsontne, DROWNING, Aporuexy, Burns, and other ACCIDENTS. 
To which are added, various useful Tables and Memoranda. By Epwarp 
Suaw, M.R.C.S., one of the Medical Assistants to the Royal Humane Society, 
Cloth, gilt edges, 2s. 6d. 


Mr. SNELL. 


A PRACTICAL GUIDE to OPERATIONS on the TEETH ; 
to which is prefixed, an Historical Sketch of the Rise and Progress of Dental 
Surgery, illustrated with Five Plates. By James Snert, M.R.C.S, 


“‘ Those of our readers who practise in the department of surgery on which Mr. Snell’s 
essay treats, will find some useful instructions on the mode of extracting teeth,” &c. &c.— 
Medical Gazette. ; 

** This is the best practical manual for the dentist we have seen in the language.”— Gazette. 


MR. CHURCHILL’S LIST OF 


Mr. SPRATT. 
OBSTETRIC TABLES; comprising Graphic Illustrations, beauti- 


fully colored, with Descriptions and Practical Remarks, exhibiting on Dissected 
Plates many important Subjects in the Practice of Midwifery. By GEORGE 
SPRATT, Surgeon-Accoucheur. Third edition, 2 vols. 4to, cloth, £2 5s. 


By the same Author. 


THE MEDICO-BOTANICAL POCKET-BOOK ; comprising a 
Compendium of VEGETABLE TOXICOLOGY, illustrated with Thirty-two 
colored Figures. To which is added, an Appendix, containing Practical Obser- 
vations on some of the Mineral and other Poisons, with Colored Tests. 
10s. 6d. cloth. 


Dy: STEPHENSON. 
MEDICAL ZOOLOGY and MINERALOGY; or, Illustrations and 


Descriptions of the Animals and Minerals employed in Medicine, and of the 
Preparations derived from them: including a Popular and Scientific Account of 
Animal, Mineral, Atmospheric, and Gaseous Poisons. By JoHN Srepuenson, 


M.D.; F.L.S. Forty-five colored Plates; royal 8vo. cloth, £2 2s, 


Dr. STEGGALL. 


FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS. 
ie 


A MANUAL for the USE OF STUDENTS PREPARING for 
EXAMINATION at Apothecaries’ Hall. Ninth Edition. 8s. 6d. boards, 


II. 


GREGORY’S CONSPECTUS MEDICINE: THEORETICA. 


The First Part ; containing the Original Text, with an Ordo Verborum and Literal 
Translation. Price 10s. 


HI. 
THE FIRST FOUR BOOKS OF CELSUS. 


Containing the 
Text, Ordo Verborum, and Translation. Price 8s, 


The above two works comprise the entire Latin C] 


ee assics required for Examina- 
tion at Apothecaries’ Hall. 


IV. 


A NEW, CORRECT, AND COMPLETE EDITION OF 


CELSUS DE RE MEDICA, E RECENSIONE LEONARDI 
TARGA. Price Ts. 


V. 
THE DECOMPOSITIONS of the NEW LONDON PHARMA- 


COPIA ; with Observations on the most active Preparations. Price 3s. 


VI. 


THE ELEMENTS OF BOTANY. Designed for the Use of 
Medical Students. With Nine Colored Plates. Price 68. 


MEDICAL WORKS. 


Dr. THOMAS. i 
THE MODERN PRACTICE OF PHYSIC; exhibiting the Cha- 


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THE 


ritig) and Hareiqn Medical Rebiew, 
Epirep sy JOHN FORBES, M.D., F.R.S., anp JOHN CONOLLY, M.D. 
Editors of the Cyclopedia of Practical Medicine, 


In presenting to the Profession the Twetrra Numser of the BRITISH AND 

Foreren Mepicat Review, completing the Srxra Volume, and concluding the 
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= ae rs t= semmana CE Sees sen aeeR CS asain, 


$ 
f 


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a 


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BRITISH AND FOREIGN MEDICAL REVIEW, 


THE FOLLOWING ARE THE 
PrincipaL Contents or No. XII. OCTOBER. 


ANALYTICAL AND CRITICAL Reviews. 


l. D’Amador and Saucerotte on the influence of Pathological * Anatomy upon Medicine. 
2. Lonsdale and Burke on Fractures: Treatment by the «« Immoveable Apparatus.” 3. Hoegh- 
Guldberg and Cross on Delirium Tremens. 4. Madden on Cutaneous Absorption. 5. Chase, 
Finck, Belmas, Bonnet, and Gerdy, on the Radical Cure of Hernia. 6. Chomel and Bouillaud 
on the Nature and Treatment of Rheumatism. 7, The Transactions of the Provincial 
Medical and Surgical Association. Vol. VI. 8, Ehrenburg, Berres, Treviranus, Remak, 
Valentin, Emmert, Burdach, and Müller, on the Structure of the Brain and Nerves. 
9. Dendy and Dick on the Cutaneous Diseases of Children. 10. Le Canu and Denis on the 
Chemistry of the Blood in Health and Disease. 11. Alcock’s Medical History and Statistics of 
the British Legion of Spain. 12. Cormack, Bouillaud, Amussat, Velpeau, on the Introduction 
of Air into the Veins. 13. The Life of Dr. Jenner; by Dr. Baron. 14, Granville on Counter 
Irritation. 15. Mitscherlich’s Practical and Experimental Chemistry ;. translated by Dr. 
Hammick. 16. Royle’s Essay on the Antiquity of Hindoo Medicine. 17. Coulson on 
Diseases of the Bladder. 18. Macreight’s Manual ‘of British Botany. 19. Hutchinson’s 
Narrative of a Recovery from Tic Douloureux. 20, Prichard’s Practical Observations on 
Hysteria. 21. Gurlt’s Elements of the Comparative Physiology of the Domestic Mammalia. 
22. Wetzlar on the injurious Consequences of unnecessary and immoderate Bloodletting. 
23. Ure’s Practical Compendium of the Materia Medica, 


SeLecrion’s from the Bririsu, AMERICAN, COLONIAL, and FOREIGN JOURNALS. 
Anatomy and Physiology, 8 Articles , Pathology, Practical Medicine, and Therapeutics, 17 
Articles ; Midwifery, 4 Articles; Forensic Medicine, 2 Articles ; Chemistry, 4 Articles. 


MEDICAL INTELLIGENCE. 


Reports of the Proceedings of the Provincial Medical Association and of the British 
Association, &c. &c. &c. 


CRITICAL NOTICES. 


£‘ Ce Journal forme une revue complete du mouvement litteraire tant en Angleterre que 
dans les pays d’outremer et sur le continent. > + . Une critique saine et impartiale 
domine la livraison que nous avons sous les yeux,” —Encyclographie des Sciences Médicales, 
tome iii. 2me Serie. Bruxelles, Mars, 1836. 

‘This Journal constitutes a complete review of the progress of medica] literature, not 
merely in England, but on the continent and in distant countries. . . , A sound and 
impartial criticism prevails throughout the Number which is now before us.” 

«© There can be no doubt but that the distinguished editors will essentially contribute to 
extend the fruits of German industry and German learning in England.”— Hannoversche 
Annalen fur die gesammte Heilkunde. Heft ii. April, 1836. 

«© The accession of The British and Foreign Medical Review to our list, it seems imperative 
on me to notice. The wide circulation of its first Numbers is a guarantee of the high esti- 
mation in which it is held; and every reader of this work must have felt satisfied of its being 
conducted with a strict reference to those gentlemanly and elevated feelings which should 
ever characterize a scientific journal: discarding the froth and scum of ephemeral publica- 
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practical materials, and exhibits a degree of erudition hitherto unknown among us.” — Retro- 
spective Address, delivered at the Manchester Meeting of the Provincial Association, J uly 21, 1836, 
by J. G. Crosse, Esq. F.R.S. 

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of the Medical and Physical Sciences, September, 1836, 

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Ge’ THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN MEDICAL REVIEW is published 
Quarterly, price Six Shillings, by JOHN CH URCHILL, 16, Prrxcss STREET, 
Sono; of whom may be had, THE FIRST SIX Vouumes, elegantly done up in Cleth 
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*,* No. XIII. will be published on the 1st of January, 1839. 


C, Adlard, Printer, Bartholomew Close. 


INTERMARRIAGE; 


THE MODE IN WHICH, AND THE CAUSES WHY, 


BEAUTY, HEALTH AND INTELLECT, 


RESULT FROM CERTAIN UNIONS, AND 


DEFORMITY, DISEASE AND INSANITY, 


FROM OTHERS; 


DEMONSTRATED BY 


. DELINEATIONS OF THE STRUCTURE AND FORMS, AND DESCRIPTIONS 
; OF THE FUNCTIONS AND CAPACITIES,- 
WHICH EACH PARENT, IN EVERY PAIR, BESTOWS ON CHILDREN,— 
IN CONFORMITY WITH CERTAIN NATURAL LAWS, 
AND BY AN ACCOUNT OF CORRESPONDING EFFECTS IN THE 
BREEDING OF ANIMALS. 


Elustrated by Drawings of Barents and Progeny. 


BY ALEXANDER WALKER. 


LONDON : 
JOHN CHURCHILL, PRINCES STREET, SOHO. 


MDCCCXXXVIII. 


(53 


“< Après nous être occupés si curieusement des moyens de rendre plus 
belles et meilleures les races des animaux ou des plantes utiles et agréables ; 
apres avoir remanié cent fois celle des chevaux et des chiens; après avoir 
transplanté, greffé, travaillé de toutes les manières, les fruits et les fleurs, 
combien n’est il pas honteux de négliger totalement la race de ’homme !” 

CABANIS. 


‘‘ The highly interesting subject upon which you are writing is remarkably 
suited to the passing time in our country. Our aristocracy, by exclusive in- 
termarriages among ancient families, proceed blindly to breed in contempt of 
deformities, of feeble intellect, or of hereditary madness, under the instigation 
of pride or the love of wealth, until their race becomes extinct ; while another 
portentous cause, that of unwholesome factories, threatens to deteriorate 
the once brave manhood of England. I believe that, among mankind, as well 
as domesticated animals, there are physical and moral influences which may 
be regulated so as to improve or predispose both the corporeal and moral ap- 
titudes; and certainly the most obvious course is that of selecting the fit 
progenitors of both sexes.” 


Sir A. CARLISLE, in & Letter to the Author. 


LONDON: 
PRINTED BY IBOTSON AND PALMER, SAVOY STREET. 


DEDICATION. 


TO 


THOMAS ANDREW KNIGHT, ESQ., F.R.S. & L.S. 


PRESIDENT OF THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, &C, &c, &c. 


My Dear SIR, 


One of the newly-discovered laws of nature, 
which are announced in this work, gives to man, 
for the first time, a precise rule for the guidance 
of intermarriage in his own race, and for that of 
breeding among animals. 

According to that law, one parent gives to pro- 
geny the forehead and organs of sense, together 
with the nutritive organs contained within the 
trunk of the body; while the other parent gives 
the backhead and cerebel or organ of the will, 
together with the locomotive organs composing 

b2 


iv DEDICATION. 


the exterior of the trunk and the whole of the 
limbs. 

I had no sooner announced to you this law, and 
brought before you a family clearly exemplifying its 
operation, when the vast experience and observa- 
tion which has long placed you at the head of 
scientific breeders, enabled you to state to me a 
practical circumstance both as to man and animals, 
which at once corroborates every portion of the 
law. 

You stated that if, in woman, you were shown 
merely a face short and round, full in the region of 
the forehead, and having what are commonly called 
chubby cheeks, but contracted and fine in the nose 
and mouth, you would unhesitatingly predict the 
trunk to be wide and capacious, and the limbs to 
taper thence to their extremities; and, so unfailing 
was this indication also in regard to inferior ani- 
mals, that if, in adjudging a prize, there were 


brought before you an apparently well-fed animal 


of opposite form, or having a long and slender 


head, you would suspect it to be crammed for show, 
and, as such, should be disposed to reject it. 


In this, your vast experience discovered a prac- 


DEDICATION, V 


tical fact independent of all theory—a fact consti- 
tuting an unerring guide in the most important 
decisions of husbandry—a fact of immense extent 
and bearing in its various relations. 

Your ready prediction of the capacity of the 
trunk from a view merely of the forehead and face 
—these anterior parts, is a proof of so much- 
of the law as states that, with the form of the 
forehead and face, goes that of the nutritive organs 
contained in the trunk, for to these its capacity is 
adapted. 

Regarded, moreover, even thus far, it leaves it 
as at least probable, that the remainder of the law 
is equally well founded, namely, that with the form 
of the backhead and cerebel—these posterior parts, 
goes that of the locomotive organs composing the 
rest of the body. 

Your beautiful observation, however, does much 
more than render this remainder of the law a mere 


probability.—I have shown in this work, that, with 


the dimensions of the backhead and cerebel, go 


those of the locomotive system, and consequently 
those of the more muscular and movable parts of 


the face, the mouth and nose. The shortness and 


Vi DEDICATION. 


fineness, therefore, of the mouth and nose, men- 
tioned in your observation, being concomitant effects 
of the same cause with the tapering limbs, become 
as sure an indication, not merely of such limbs, but 
of the small backhead and cerebel, as the short 
and round face with full forehead were of the wide 
and capacious trunk, Thus that observation con- 
firms also the remainder of the law. 

As this fact is of such immense extent in its 
bearing and. relations, and as it so irrefragably 
confirms the law, the work which announces and 
illustrates it, cannot be so appropriately dedicated 
to any one as to you; and this accordingly it is, 
with great respect and esteem. 

ALEXANDER WALKER. 


Postscript.—Since the whole of the work was 
printed, and since this dedication was written and 
presented to Mr. Knight, the death of that distin- 
guished naturalist has occurred. The dedication, 
as accepted by him, remains as a testimony of my 


deep respect for his memory, and my sincere grati- 


tude for his generous and unwearied communication 


of so many valuable facts. 


LETTER RESPECTING THIS WORK 


FROM 


GEORGE BIRKBECK, Ese., M.D. F.G.S., 


PRESIDENT OF THE LONDON MECHANICS? INSTITUTION, &c. &c. &e. 


TO THE AUTHOR. 


38, Finsbury Square, 
May 23, 1838. 
My DEAR Sir, 


I wave derived much pleasure from a perusal, 


in its progress through the press, of the work in 
which you have clearly developed, and satisfacto- 
rily established, those views of the formation of 
organized beings, communicated by you to me, 
in various conversations of very great interest. 
After having unsuccessfully although not unpro- 
ductively, inspected with vast industry and ingenuity 
the rudiments, the minima visibilia of animal ex- 
istence, it is peculiarly gratifying to find, much of 
the mysterious process of generation, unfolded by 


Vill LETTER FROM DR. BIRKBECK 


a comparison of the entire and enlarged being with 
its producers: and thus obtaining a solution of the 
obscure and difficult question, of the effect con- 
tributed by each sex in the appointed work of re- 
production, not from the intricacies of the ovaria, 
uterus, or seminal fluid, but from the condition 
and configuration of the visible and tangible re- 
sult. 

The general inquirer, not less than the philoso- 
phical physiologist, will, I am persuaded, feel grate- 
ful to you for the copious collection of facts, which 
you have provided on this hitherto perplexing 


subject: and whatever may be the decision, with 


respect to any of the curious and important 


natural laws which you have so logically deduced, 
it will be admitted, I doubt not, that you have 
established the communication of organization by 
each parent in the formation of their offspring ; 
and therefore that simple impression or simple 
stimulus, is not the whole actual effect of either 
party. It will be admitted likewise, that you have 
fully demonstrated the value of a due observance 
of several of your laws relating to reproduction, in 


promoting the physical, moral, and intellectual well- 


TO THE AUTHOR. ix 


being of the human race, not less than the beauty 


and utility of form and action, of animals of every 
rank in the creation. And it must be admitted, I 
am sure—and the admission involves no common 
approbation—that in pursuing these most delicate 
inquiries, your language and your modes of ex- 
pression, are always calculated to impart a know- 
ledge of the fact or the inference which you pro- 
pose to communicate, without awakening any feel- 
ings, which may disturb the chaste sobriety of phi- 
losophical research. You have indeed, in wending 
your way through this beautiful and physiologi- 
cally attractive portion ofnatural science, verified, 
if I mistake not, an exquisite expression, handed 
down to us with many truths of mighty moment, 
that ‘to the pure all things are pure.” 

I wait, with eager expectation, the appearance 
of your next volume (already announced as pre- 
pared for the press), which completes this extraor- 


dinary series; and remain, 


My dear Sir, 
Sincerely and respectfully your’s, 


GEORGE BIRKBECK. 
‘To Alex. Walker, Esq. 


b 5 


Soe nea ea male 
————— SS 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER FROM Dr. BIRKBECK to the Author 
ADVERTISEMENT, with List of Original Facts and 
Opinions contained in the Work . g z 


Preliminary, explaining Scientific Terms . . 


Part I.—PuHysIoLoGicaL CONDITIONS CON- 


NECTED WITH, AND TERMINATING IN Love. 


Section 1.—Puberty : 5 : i 

Its period . . å e i 

The changes caused by it it $ é 3 
Section II.—Changes in the Locomotive System 


Section III.—Changes in the Vital System ° 
Chlorosis illustrating these 
Natural Defects illustrating these 
Extirpation illustrating these . x R 
Retardation in the Male illustrating these . 
‘Castration illustrating these ~- A A 
The Catamenia . ` 
Section IV.— Changes i in the Mental bpl . 
Mode in which Uterine Influence produces Changes 
in that System i : ; . 7 
Consequent State of Mind previous to Love . 
Love A . ° 


e 


Page 
vii 


CONTENTS. 


Part IL.—SExvaL RELATIONS. ARISING FROM 
THESE CONDITIONS, AND CONNECTED WITH OR 
LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 

Section I.—Useful Guidance and Dangerous 
Restraint . $ x š 3 š 


Useful Guidance . : ; 
Dangerous Restraint . r : 


Section II.—Unnatural Indulgence and Aboli 
Continence . . ‘ ; : : . 
Unnatural Indulgence 


Absolute Continence 


° 


Section II.—Necessity of Intermarriage . 


Part II.—CIRCUMSTANCES RESULTING FROM 
THE PRECEDING RELATIONS, AND CONNECTED 
WITH, OR PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 

Section —Natural Preference of the various 
kinds of Beauty, for the first time explained . 

Section II. —State of Marriage i i ; 

Section IIJ.—Forms and Qualities propagated . 


Part IV.— NEWLY DISCOVERED NATURAL Laws 
REGULATING THE RESEMBLANCE OF PROGENY 
TO PARENTS. 

Section I.—Laws of Resemblance . ; : 

I. Law of Selection, where both Parents are of the 

same Variety 4 ; o : : 
l. Organs communicated by one Parent—the An- 
terior Series Š x í ; 
2. Organs communicated by the other Parent—the 
Posterior Series : $ 3 r 3 
Explanation of the Accompaniment of the particu- 
lar Organs in each 


e e e e. 


CONTENTS. 


Either Parent may give either Series . 
Slight Illustrations é i 
= Various Corroborations, both as to Man and Animals 


Mode of verifying this Law, by examining Parents 
and Children. : : . : : 
Influence of the Posterior Organs upon the Anterior 


ones, and vice versa x A 3 
Cause of the Division of the Mental or Thinking 
System 
Hypothesis as to ‘the Tnereased aes of that 
System . à 
The Directions of its eee ee 
Explanation of the Differences in the Features of 
Children, who yet resemble the same Parent 
Importance of this Law . . = : 
II. Law of Crossing, where each Parent is o a Dif- 
ferent Variety 
III. Law of In-and-in Breeding, ee oth Pareti 
are of the same Family j Í š 
IV. Law of Sex 7 s 
V. Law of Maternal Nutrition 
Section II.—Circumstances Modifying Hie 
Laws . : 3 : : ; : : 
Section IH.—Consequent Easy Improvement of 
Families : ; i i j ‘ $ 


Part V.— VaGuEe METHODS oF REGULATING 
PROGENY ADOPTED IN THE BREEDING oF Do- 
MESTICATED ANIMALS. 

Section I.—General Principles 

Section II.—Breeding In-and-in 

Section III.—Selection . Y 

Section IV.— Crossing . . 


CONTENTS. 


Part VI.—APPLICATION OF THE NATURAL 
Laws To THE BREEDING OF DOMESTICATED 
ANIMALS. 

Section I.—General Observations . 

Section II.—Horses 

Section III,—Cattle y ` 

Section 1V.—Sheep Í : ; 


Part VIL—VaGUE METHODS AFFECTING PRo- 
GENY ADOPTED AMONG MANKIND. 

Section I.—Breeding In-and-in 

Section I].—Selection . 


Section IIJ.—Crossing . > ? À : 


Part VIII—Cuoicke IN INTERMARRIAGE, AS 
PRESCRIBED BY THE NATURAL Laws. 

Section I.—General Observations on Age, Sta- 
ture, &c. š z i : : 

Section II.—As to the Locomotive System 

Section III.—As to the Vital System 

Section IV.—As to the Mental System 


=, a w 


S Eee a attest estado onasmmsioeamees 


LIST OF PLATES. 


I. The Duke and Duchess of Kent and Queen Vic- 
toria, as affording a General Illustration of the 
Law of Selection : - To face page 156 


II. Napoleon, Maria Louisa, and their Son, as serving 
the same purpose . : 2 3 e ON, 


III. Front View of a Father, Mother and two Sons, 
more minutely illustrating the Law of Selection. 

168 

IV. Profile View of the same, serving the same pur- 


pose oS ES eee 


V. Front View of a Father, Mother and two Dangh- 
ters, illustrating the Influence of the Posterior 
Organs upon the Anterior ones me eee: S|, 


VI. Profile View of the same, serving the same purpose. 
170 


VII. Figures 1 and 2—Front and Profile of a Mulatto, 
illustrating the Law of Crossing: Figures 3 and 
4—Front and Profile view of a Sambo, serving the 
same purpose A í y . . 204 


VIII. Bantam Fowls, illustrating the effects of Breeding 
In-and-In ; : 3 3 i - 230 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


THE great object of this work is altogether new 
and heretofore unattempted—the establishment not 
merely of a new science—but of that science which 
is by far the most interesting to humanity—the 
science which, for the first time, points out and 
explains all the natural laws that, according to 
each particular choice in intermarriage, determine 
the precise forms and qualities of the progeny,— 
which unfolds the mode in which, and the causes 
why beauty, health and intellect result from cer- 
tain unions, and deformity, disease and insanity 
from others,—and which enables us, under all 
given conditions, and with absolute certainty, to 
predict the degree and kind of these, which must 
result from each intermarriage. 

The philosophical bases of this science have, 
moreover, nothing to do with hypothesis or suppo- 


XViil ADVERTISEMENT. 


sition ;—they are the indisputable, though hitherto 
unapplied, facts of anatomy and physiology ;—and 
their present popular applications are rendered 
subjects of absolute demonstration by descriptions 
and drawings of families (some of them well known 
to the public); while every reader has the power of 
adding to their number among the families of his 
acquaintance. ‘They are further subjected to de- 
monstration by all the more important facts, here 
stated, as to the breeding of domesticated animals 
—facts which have not hitherto been explained or 
understood, and consequently have not hitherto 
afforded those principles on which the breeder may 
now act, with perfect certainty of the desired result. 

In the First Part of the work is given an ac- 
count of the physiological conditions connected 
with and terminating in Love,—the period of pu- 
berty, and the remarkable and interesting changes 
which it causes in the locomotive system and the 
voice, in the vital or nutritive system, and in the 
mental or thinking system, especially of woman. 
This is rendered altogether popular. 

In the Second Part are described the sexual re- 
lations arising from these conditions, and connected 
with or leading to INTERMARRIAGE,—useful guid- 
ance and dangerous restraint, unnatural indulgence 
and absolute continence, and the necessity of inter- 
marriage—subjects entirely popular and deeply in- 
teresting to both sexes. 


ADVERTISEMENT. RIX 


In the Third Part are described the circumstan- 
ces resulting from the preceding relations, and con- 
nected with or productive of Proceny,—the natural 
preference for the various kinds of beauty for the 
first time explained, the state of marriage, and the 
propagation of forms and qualities. 

In the Fourth Part are enunciated the newly 
discovered laws regulating the RESEMBLANCE OF 
Progeny To Parents,—ihe law of selection where 
both parents are of the same variety, the law of 
crossing where each parent is of a different variety, 
the law of in-and-in breeding where both parents 
are of the same family, the law of sex, and the law 
of maternal nutrition (none of them heretofore 


observed, and all of them here physiologically de- 
monstrated), as well as the circumstances modifying 
these laws, and the consequent easy improvement 
of families in beauty of forms and excellence of 
functions. 


In the Fifth and Sixth Parts are described the 
vague methods of regulating progeny adopted in the 
breeding of Domestricatep ANIMALS,—in in-and- 
in, selection and crossing, and the application of the 
natural laws to the breeding of these animals— 
horses, cattle and sheep. 

In the Seventh and Eighth Parts are described 
the vague methods of affecting progeny adopted 
among Manxrnp,—in in-and-in, selection and cross- 


XX ADVERTISEMENT. 


ing, and the transcendently important subject of 
choice in intermarriage, as prescribed by the na- 
tural laws, and as calculated to correct each parti- 
cular defect of the locomotive, the vital or nutritive, 
and the mental or thinking system, that may exist 
in any family or any individual. 

It is here perhaps that I should add, to what has 
now been said, whatever regards my means of ac- 
complishing this work, and a few further remarks 
on the chief purpose which I have in view therein. 

To its anthropological views I have long been 
habituated; and, for several years, I have carefully 
observed the resemblance and the other relations 
of progeny to parents. Most of the sciences, how- 
ever, of which man is the subject, have derived such 
advancement from those which regard animals— 
comparative physiology has thrown such light on 
human physiology, that, on everything relating to 
intermarriage and progeny, it was evident, that 
those who had devoted their time and attention to 
the breeding of domestic animals might be able to 
furnish very valuable information. The laws of 


nature are simple and uniform; the functions of 
organs differ no more than their structure; and as 
nearly all the organs of man are greatly resembled 
by those of domestic animals, the same resemblance 
exists in their functions. 

I consulted, therefore, the most distinguished 


ADVERTISEMENT, an 


breeders in every department; and they have kindly 
and zealously given me their best assistance, for 
which I beg here to express my gratitude. 

In a letter of the 4th of February, 1837, my 
correspondent * * *, whose devotion to the in- 
terests of British husbandry is not more remarkable 


than his frank and generous communication of 
knowledge, says, “ For the last ten or twelve years, 
I have attended very much to this subject, and, as 
I have been breeding cattle upon a very large 
scale, I have been enabled, I think, to satisfy my- 
self, that some of the common opinions are un- 
founded, and to establish some theoretical prin- 


ciples which generally prove correct in practice. 
If Mr. Walker thinks it worth his while to take 
the trouble to write to me, I will, with the greatest 
pleasure, give him the result of my experience, if 
it should turn out that I have any experience which 
can be useful to him.” rei 

In a letter of the 11th of April, 1837, Mr. Knight 
of Downton, president of the Horticultural Society, 
says, “ I have made so many experiments in cross- 
breeding, during more than half a century, that I 
believe I shall be able to communicate to you a 
good deal of information upon a subject which I 
agree with you in thinking very highly important ; 
and I shall be happy to give you any assistance in 
my power.” Of what immense value this has been, 


f 
f 


ee 
SS 


Xx ADVERTISEMENT. 


as regards man as well as inferior animals, the 
reader will see in the work, and especially under 
the laws regulating the resemblance of progeny to 
parents. To that gentleman, indeed, I owe its 
earliest and most perfect confirmation. 

In a letter of August, 1837, from Dr. Hancock, 

the South American traveller, he says, “I am fully 
sensible of the importance of regulating the breed 
amongst animals, which is, I suppose, generally re- 
cognised and acknowledged. But to me it has 
appeared, as it has to yourself, a matter of much 
surprise, that so little regard (if any) has been 
given to the same principles applied to our own 
species—as though we either considered our race 
to be perfect, or else of inferior importance com- 
pared with plants and animals in general.—I have 
had, as you seem to think, many opportunities of 
observing the practical application of these princi- 
ples. I had even entertained an idea of composing 
a small treatise on the subject; but I am well 
pleased it should have fallen into abler hands.” 
Dr. Hancock’s information respecting the Ameri- 
can races, is highly important. 
To many other philosophical observers of nature 
—Sir Anthony Carlisle, Dr. Copland, Mr. Malcolm 
Walker, &c., as well as to the ablest of the pro- 
fessional breeders of domesticated animals—I am 
deeply indebted. 


ADVERTISEMENT. Sees 


Of the chief purpose of the work, I need only 
further say, that a knowledge of the laws here 
established, in the case of all intermarriages, is 
evidently of great importance, though a very nar- 
row and mistaken interest may lead to their 
neglect. 

This cannot better be enforced than by pointing 
out to the reader the means, altogether repugnant 
to the habits of modern society (in climates where 
clothing is necessary, and where morality is modi- 
fied by that circumstance), which have been re- 
commended even by the most illustrious writers, in 
order to accomplish but a small portion of the pur- 
poses which, as mere applications of natural sci- 
ence, are rendered simple, beautiful, and easily 
practicable by the means pointed out in this work. 

“In choosing wives and husbands,” says Sir 
Thomas More of his Utopians, « they observe 
earnestly and straightly a custom which seemed to 
us very fond and foolish. For a grave and honest 
matron showeth the woman, be she maid or widow, 
naked to the wooer; and likewise a’ sage and dis- 
creet man exhibiteth the wooer naked to the wo- 
man. At this custom we laughed, and disallowed 
it as foolish. But they, on the other part, do 
greatly wonder at the folly of all other nations, 
which, in buying a colt (whereas a little money is 
in hazard), be so chary and circumspect, that 


eae” aa R 
acme ena = 


Baton 


XXIV ADVERTISEMENT. 


though he be almost all bare, yet they will not 
buy him, unless the saddle and all the harness be 
taken off—lest under those coverings be hid some 
gall or sore. And yet in choosing a wife, which 
shall be either pleasure or displeasure to them all 
their life after, they be so rechless, that all the 
residue of the woman’s body being covered with 
clothes, they esteem her scarcely by one hand- 
breadth (for they can see no more but her face), 
and so to join her to them, not without great jeo- 
pardy of evil agreeing together—if anything in her 
body afterwards should chance to offend and mis- 
like them, 

« For all men be not so wise as to have respect 
[merely] to the virtuous condition of the party. 
And the endowments of the body cause the virtues 
of the mind more to be esteemed and regarded: 
yea, even in the marriages of wise men. Verily, 
so foul deformity may be hid under those coverings, 
that it may quite alienate and take away the man’s 
mind from his wife, when it shall not be lawful for 
their bodies to be separate again. If such defor- 


mity happen by any chance after the marriage is 
consummate and finished, well: therein is no re- 


medy but patience: every man must take his 
fortune well in worth. But it were well done that 
a law were made whereby all such deceits might be 
eschewed and avoided beforehand.” 


ADVERTISEMENT. XXV 


Lord Bacon, in his New Atlantis, notices the 
custom here mentioned, and objects to it as imply- 
ing ‘a scorn to give refusal after so familiar a 
knowledge.’ But because of many hidden defects 
in men and women’s bodies, he establishes, in his 
commonwealth, another which he calls «a more 
civil way.“ Near every town are a couple of 
pools, which they call Adam and Eve’s pools, 
where it is permitted to one of the friends of the 
man, and another of the friends of the woman, to 
see them severally bathe naked.” 

Burton, in his Anatomy of Melancholy, says, 
“ Lycurgus appointed [the above custom] in his 
laws; and More in his Utopian commonwealth 


approves of it.—Francis Sforza,” continues he, 
“ Duke of Milan, was so curious in this behalf, that 
he would not marry the Duke of Mantua’s daugh- 
ter, except he might see her naked first.” 

All this may be thought a little too particular ; 
but it is not quite so much so as the discipline at 


one time actually practised in the northern portion 
of our own country. “ If any one,” says Boéthius, 
& were visited with the falling sickness, madness, 
gout, leprosy, or any such dangerous disease, 
which was likely to be propagated from father to 
son, he was instantly castrated : if it were a woman, 
she was debarred all intercourse with men; and if 
she were found pregnant with such complaint upon 
c 


XXVI ADVERTISEMENT. 


her, she and her unborn child were buried alive.” * 
This, as Dr. Good observes, would certainly make 
sad havoc in our own day, were it ever carried into 
execution. 


Happily even the least offensive of these methods 
is rendered unnecessary by the simple, beautiful, 
and easily practicable application of natural 
science pointed out in this work; by which, at 
the same time, that prescience of the physieal 


forms and mental capacities of progeny is at- 
tained, which is impossible by all other means. 

In the execution of the work under obligations 
so manifold and great, I have scrupulously acknow- 
ledged all those that are ofan original character, by 
naming the persons to whom they are due, and in- 
serting the date of the communications.t I have 
also profited by most of the good works having any 
reference to the subject; and whenever the sub- 
jects described, or the opinions expressed, from 
them, seemed original or peculiar to the writer, I 
have as scrupulously marked the quotation by in- 
verted commas ; but when these appeared to be the 
common property. of science, employed by many 
writers, I have not done so; nor could I, indeed, 


* De Veterum Scotorum Moribus, lib. i. 

+ To render the insertion of the year unnecessary, I may 
here say, that all the communications referred to were 
made between March 1837 and March 1838. 


ADVERTISEMENT, xxvii 


with any propriety, seeing that I have generally 
abridged, enlarged, or corrected their expression. 

To avoid, moreover, the possibility of my being 
thought to claim that which may belong to 
others, I here subjoin a list of the more impor- 
tant original facts and opinions which the work 
contains :— 

1. The brief view ofa natural system of anatomy 
and physiology, constituting the Preliminary ; 

2. The assignment of the cause of early pu- 
berty, and of the catamenia in woman ; 

3. The physiological reasons for concluding that 
love is more essential to woman than to man, 
though she can more easily suspend or defer it,— 
afforded by the proportionally greater developement 
of her organs of sense and vital system, and the 
smaller size of her cerebel as the organ of will, 
XC. ; 

4. The explanation of the natural preference of 
the various kinds of beauty; 

5. The showing that conception cannot take 
place under horror and disgust; 

6. The pointing out the indestructibility of 
organization in propagation from parents to pro- 
geny, and the consequent impossibility of faulty 
organization being either soon or easily got rid of 
by mankind generally ; 

7. The establishment of the natural laws regu- 
lating the resemblance of progeny to parents; 


XXVII ADVERTISEMENT. 


8. The establishment of the law of selection, 
where both parents are of the same variety, and 
when either parent gives either of two distinct 
series of organs ; 

9. The explanation of the accompaniment of 
particular organs; 


10. The explanation of the influence of the pos- 
terior series of organs upon the anterior ones, and 
wice versa ; 

11. The showing the cause of the division of 
the nervous or thinking system ; 

_ 12. The explanation of the differences in the fea- 
tures of children, who yet resemble the same 
parent; 

13. The showing that fatuity is the disease of he- 
reditary royalty, and hereditary aristocracy ; 

14. The application of this law to the prevention 
of fatuity in progeny ; 

15. Its application to the correction of defects of 
the locomotive or of the nutritive system; _ 

16. Its application, and that consequently of the 
propagation of organization in two series of or- 
gans, or in halves, to the exposure of the hypothe- 
sis of blood, and the practices founded upon it; 

17. The establishment of the law of crossing, 
where each parent is of a different variety, and when 
the male gives the backhead and locomotive organs, 
and the female the face and nutritive organs ; 


ADVERTISEMENT. XX1X" 


18. The showing the cause why, in crosses, 
the male gives the backhead and locomotive sys- 


tem ; 

19. The showing the cause of the apparent or 
real want of permanence in cross-breeds by the re- 
formation of the original races, and the mode of 
obviating it ; 

20. The pointing out the perpetual re-forma- 
tion of the original races inhabiting the British 
isles—Celtic, Saxon, Danish, Norwegian, Scla- 
vonic, &C. ; 

21. The conclusion from the law of crossing, 
as to the limits of what may be obtained by its 
means ; 

22. The establishment of the law of in-and-in 
breeding, where both parents are of the same 
family, and when the female gives the backhead 
and Jocomotive organs, and the male the face and 
vital organs; 

23. The showing the cause why, in in-and-in, 
the female gives the backhead and nutritive or- 
gans; 

24. The explanation why nearly perfect animals 
breeding in-and-in must degenerate ; 

25. The better explanation of in-and-in breed: 
ing; . 
26. The showing the cause of the rapid im- 
provement of the ‘Turks by polygamy; 

c 3 


MG Scat, MI Ne a os 


ee er ee 


XXX ADVERTISEMENT. 


27. The assignment of the philosophical basis 


of the general superiority of the modern practice 
of horse-breeding, in depending greatly on the 
stallion ; das 

28. The statement of the fact that, though either 
parent may give the vital system to progeny, it 
may have the opposite sex, the communication of 
the reproductive organs being thus apparently in- 
dependent of the general vital system ; 

29. The explanation of this fact; and the re- 
markable confirmation thereof; 
= 80. The establishment of the law of sex, by 
which either kind is, along with the general vital 
system, given by either parent ; 

31. The establishment of the law of maternal 
nutrition, by which a certain likeness is spread 
over the countenances of all the children of a 


family ; 
32. The showing the cause of this law; 
33. The pointing out the modifications of these 


laws according to age; 
34. The pointing out the modifications of these 


laws according to sex; 

35. The pointing out the modifications of these 
laws according to the various new parts which are 
combined ; 

36. The explanation of atavism ; 

37. The statement of the fact of the resem- 


ADVERTISEMENT. XXXL 


blance of old married couples, and the explana- 
tion ; | 

38. The demonstration of the easy improvement 
of families by the operation of these laws; 

39. The statement of the fact, that a man may 
have no rational interest, physical or moral, in his 
second generation, or that a grandson may not 
have the slightest resemblance, external or internal, 
to his grandfather. a 

40. The statement of the fact that a man has 
the power to reproduce and preserve either series 
of organs—the best or the worst portion of his 
organization ; 

41. The statement of the fact that the means of 
improved general organization and beauty of coun- 
tenance in progeny, are equally subject, by inter- 
marriage, to the control of man ; 

42. The pointing out the particular means of 
this as to beauty of face; and the cases which — 
illustrate it ; 

43. The showing the reason why beautiful pa- 
rents may produce ugly children, and ugly parents, 
beautiful children ; 

44, The application of the natural laws to the 
breeding of horses ; 

45. The statement of the fact, that it is prefer- 
able that the male should give to progeny the 
voluntary and locomotive systems; and the female, 

cA 


amar SPAR tee, ee 20 ghia ARR SOEN 


— ere — spe oie ng ni nh POST NO AGREES Om tl i AE Ripe Li as TER Pete She L 


XXX ADVERTISEMENT. 


the sensitive and vital systems; if these respec- 
tively be well conformed ; 

46. The statement of the fact that pace and 
speed depend on the posterior organs, and action 
on the anterior ones ; 

47. The admirable illustration afforded by the 
Arab horse, that organization is propagated in 
halves, as well as that he has introduced more per- 
fect sensitive and vital systems, while the British 


stock have given the more powerful voluntary and 
locomotive systems ; 

48. The mode of discovering the mental quali- 
ties of animals. 

49, The clearer view of the relative uses of the 
posterior and anterior extremities of quadrupeds; 

50. The statement of the fact, that, in cattle, 
both fattening and milking are dependent on a 
good vital system ; 

51. The indication of the characteristics of fat- 
teners and milkers respectively, as opposed in ten- 
dency, as distinguished by the structure of the 
mamme and the degree of sensibility, and as in- 
fluenced by climate ; 

_52. The application of the natural laws to the 
breeding of cattle ; 

53. The statement of the fact that, in sheep, 
fattening is entirely, and the production of wool 
greatly dependent on a good vital system ; 


ADVERTISEMENT. XXXII 


54. The pointing out the circumstances re- 


spectively influencing fattening and the production 
of wool, as in some measure opposed, and related 
to sensibility and climate. 

55. The application of the natural laws to the 
breeding of sheep ; i 

56. The observation of the reproduction of the 
hymen; 

57. The showing that the great condition of 
aptitude for reproduction is the greatest possible 
perfection of the vital system ; 

58. The pointing out that want of adaptation of 
the anterior and posterior series of organs which 
causes the impressions made on the skin of the 
abdomen and mammæ during gestation and lacta- 
tion; 

59. The affording the surest means of deter- 
mining the parentage of children ; 

60. The affording the surest guidance of their 
education. 

61. The pointing out the mode of improving the 
organization where there is a tendency to mental 
weakness. 


Notice to BREEDERS.— T'hose who desire ad- 
vice or assistance in the application of the natural 


XXXIV ADVERTISEMENT, 


laws to the breeding of HORSES, CATTLE, or SHEEP, 
may receive tt by addressing letters, post paid, to 
Mr. Malcolm Walker, to the care of the publisher 
of this work. 


INTERMARRIAGE. 


PRELIMINARY. 


Tue anatomical and physiological knowledge 
necessary to the understanding of this book, is 
comprised in this page and the two following ones. 
It is merely a brief view of a Natural System of 
Anatomy and Physiology,—the former describing 
the particular structures or organs of animals, and 
the latter the actions or functions of these organs— 
drawn from the first account given of such a sys- 
tem, which was published by me, above thirty 
years ago, in several elementary works, and espe- 
cially in Previminary Lectures, (Edinburgh, 
1808), with expositions of the errors of Bichat, 
Richerand, &e. 


i B 


src ae i a i aaeain ai — 


PRELIMINARY. 


According to that system, the human body and 
that of the higher animals consist of three classes 
of organs and functions: namely, 

ist. The Locomotive organs and functions, 
consisting of bones, which support the body and 
its parts; ligaments, which connect the bones to- 
gether and form the joints; and muscles or bun- 
dles of red flesh, which move these.—Together, 
these form an apparatus of levers, which exercise 
large and conspicuous motion, and of which the 
limbs are chiefly composed. Itis by means of this 
apparatus, that all motions of the higher animals 
from one place to another are accomplished. 

Qdly. The viraL or NUTRITIVE organs and 
functions, consisting of lacteals,* fine tubular 
vessels, which absorb nutritious matter from the 
food taken into the intestines, and carry it towards 
the heart, to be converted into blood; blood- 
vessels, which circulate the blood thus formed; 
and various glands or filters, which secrete or de- 
posit, not only the various substances composing 
the different organs, but the fat, the milk, hair or 
wool, and other animal products.—All of these 
consist of ¢wbes, which exercise only a minute pe- 


ristaltic or pulsating motion, and of which the 
trunk of the body is the centre and principal seat. 
It is by means of this apparatus, that not only 


* Or lymphatics. 


PRELIMINARY. 3 


nutrition and secretion are effected, but that use- 
less matters are removed and thrown out of the 
body.* 

3dly. The MENTAL or THINKING organs and 
functions, consisting of the immediate organs of 
sense, the eye, ear, &c., which receive impressions 
from external bodies; a brain, which perceives, 
compares, reflects, &c.; and a cerebel or little 
brain, situated below the back part of the greater 
brain, and above the neck, which wills, and conse- 
quently throws the muscles into those actions which 
fulfil its purposes.—All of these consist of series 
of globules, bound, by membranous investments, 
into fibres of various forms, of which the motion 
is invisible, and which chiefly occupy the head. 
It is by means of this apparatus that sense, 
thought, and the impulse to action, and conse- 
quently all connexion with external objects, take 
place. : 
This is rendered still plainer by the following 
tabular arrangement of Anatomy, Physiology, and 
Pathology :— 


* The digestive, respiratory and reproductive organs, 
belong to this system, as preparing, renovating and pro- 
pagating vital matter. These have every one of the cha- 
racters of vital organs ; and it was consequently a gross 
error of the arrangements of Bichat, Richerand, &c., to 
consider any of them as distinct systems. 

B2 


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PART I. 


PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS CONNECTED 
WITH, AND TERMINATING IN, LOVE. 


SECTION I. 


PUBERTY.—ITS PERIOD.—THE CHANGES CAUSED 
BY IT. 


Puberty and its Period. 


Man, in common with the more perfect animals, 
is not born with the faculty of immediately repro- 
ducing his like. The organs which, at a future 
period, perform that important function, appear to 
remain entirely torpid long after birth; and the 
appetites connected with them do not exist. 

As, moreover, the infancy of man is longer, so is 
his puberty, or the period when the reproductive 
faculty is coming into action, more tardy than that 
of the other races of animals. 

In the human race in particular, the most ge- 
neral difference as to the period of puberty, is at- 


6 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


tached to the difference of sEx. Puberty is uni- 
versally earlier in woman than in man. 

Some authors, says Roussel, “have derived the 
reason of that difference from the smallness of the 
organs of woman: they observe that she is sooner 
fit for reproduction, because her organs being 
smaller, are earlier formed, and the organic or nu- 
tritive molecules which contribute to their forma- 
tion and developement, become an excess des- 
tined to reproduction. The circumstance of the 
smallness of the organs of woman is indeed fa- 
vourable to this opinion; and it is reasonable to 
suppose that nature is not occupied about the 
species until the individual is perfected. But this 
order is often inverted: we frequently see mar- 
riageable girls who have not attained their full 
growth.” 

I have quoted this passage at length, because it 
expresses not merely a common and universal 
error, but a fundamental one, and I am anxious to 
correct it. 

The immediate cause of the earlier puberty of 
woman is the circumstance that her vital or nu- 
tritive system is proportionally larger than that of 
man. In early life, the three classes of organs 
and functions*—the locomotive, the vital or nu- 


* It is supposed, that the pages entitled PRELIMINARY 
have been carefully perused by the reader. 


PUBERTY, ITS PERIOD, &Xc. 7 


tritive, and the mental or thinking systems, bear 
the same proportion to each other in woman as in 


man; and the girl is scarcely distinguishable from 


the boy. In woman, this proportion is gradually 
departed from; her vital system, occupying chiefly 
the trunk, becomes larger in general, as well as 
in particular parts; it grows out of proportion to 
the other two systems—occupying chiefly the head, 
or composing the limbs; its functions follow its 
structure; and hence alone the earliness of that 
aggregate of them which is denominated puberty. 

The imputation of disproportion to the vital 
or nutritive system of woman, is not here made 
without due reflection. It has not been under- 
stood or noticed; but it really exists. Observation 
will show that this disproportion is absent in early 
life; that it takes place at puberty ; that it alone 
enables woman to discharge all her peculiar func- 
tions; and that, when it is useless for these pur- 
poses, it secretes the adipose substance which dis- 
tinguishes the period of fatness, which the French 
call the age de retour, or, shrivelling up, leaves 
flaccidity and deformity in its place. 

Hence, an old woman is a kind of new being, 
differing from the mature woman in all her chief 
characteristics; and so odd is this felt to be by 
the vulgar, that it is sometimes made by them the 
subject of ridicule or of reproach. No change so 


8 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


remarkable takes place in man, because there has 
in him been no necessary out-of-proportion in 
any of the systems, 

This final change in woman is the more remark- 
able, because old age in her is, in other respects, 
less marked than in man; her hair does not be- 
come grey so speedily; she rarely becomes bald ; 
and, with litle suffering, she in general attains an 
advanced age. 

That this disproportionate developement of the 
vital system is the cause of the earlier puberty of 
woman, is further illustrated by the time at which 
some VARIETIES OF THE HUMAN SPECIES attain 
that period, independent of such influences as cli- 
mate, aliment, temperament, &c. 

This is remarkable in the Mongolie or north- 
eastern broad-faced variety. Not only in China 
and Japan, but even in countries much colder than 
our own, does puberty commence in the female 
sex much earlier than with us. A French writer 
asserts, that a Kalmuck or a. Siberian woman of 
the Mongolian race is marriageable at the age of 
thirteen even in a climate as cold as that of Swe. 
den, whilst a Swedish female is scarcely so at fif- 
teen or sixteen ; that, still further north, and even 
on the confines of the icy sea, the Samoeides are 
nubile at eleven, and are frequently mothers at 
twelve ; that the women of Lapland begin to evince 


PUBERTY, ITS PERIOD, Wc. 9 


maturity at twelve; and that the same appears 
to be the case with all the races of the polar 
regions,—as the Ostiacs, the Yakoutes, the Kam- 
schatdales, and even the American Esquimaux. 

This precocity has, indeed, been assigned to 
other causes than that to which I have ascribed 
it. Virey imagines that the early arrival at 
puberty amongst Mongolic nations may arise 
partly from the smallness of their stature, but, in 
a great measure, from the nature of their fish diet, 
which is supposed to be of a stimulating and 
aphrodisiac quality, and from dwelling continually 
in subterraneous places subject to the suffocating 
heat produced by the vapour of water poured upon 
hot stones. 

The inadequacy of these causes, which apply 
but to a few of the Mongolic tribes, is evident to 
every observer of nature. But no one can notice the 
large vital system of the north-eastern people, 
without discovering a sufficient cause for this pre- 
cocity, in the vast developement of that system. 
In all the sketches of women of the Mongolic va- 
riety, which have been furnished by our recent 


voyagers, the trunk, which contains the principal 
organs of that class, is large, the abdomen wide 
and prominent, the mammæ extensive, and their 
habits as to food correspond. These natural or- 
ganic causes apply, moreover, to all the women of 


BOS 


So tp 


SS 


Ne 


10 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE, 


the Mongolic variety, whether they inhabit cold, 
or temperate, or warm climates; and they can 
alone account for the early precocity of all. It is 
a miserable physiology which, finding an event 
common to a whole race, must seek, like this of 
Virey, a different cause for the same event, in every 
different section of that race. 

Upon the same natural principle, which I have 
now pointed out and illustrated, there are also 
some FAMILIES and some INDIVIDUALS in whom we 
may expect this precocity. 

Peculiar temperament naturally produces, in 
each person, some variation in the period of pu- 
berty. A girl of sanguine temperament must be 
earlier subject to a condition characterised by ful- 
ness of the circulating system and general ex- 
citement, than one in whom the lymphatic tempera- 
rament predominates. 

Such is the great natural, organic and funda- 
mental cause of early puberty, which is, however, 
liable to modification from various external in- 
fluences. 


Of these, the most extensive in its operation is, 
the TEMPERATURE OF CLIMATE. 

As heat increases the vital energy in all or- 
ganized bodies, and renders their growth more 
rapid, it must necessarily hasten the period of 
puberty. It is indeed notorious, that warm eli- 


PUBERTY, ITS PERIOD, &c. Il 


mates increase the developement of the reproduc- 
tive organs, and excite erotic desires in both sexes. 

This cause, moreover, if operating with great 
force during many ages, must produce organic 
effects so permanent, that they will remain long 
after removal from its direct or immediate influ- 
ence. Individuals of the Ethiopic variety, even 
when transported to Europe or North America, 
arrive at puberty sooner than the white popula- 
tion. 

On the contrary, the inhabitants of low moist 
countries receive a flaccid and cold temperament 
that naturally retards puberty; and, under all cir- 
cumstances, they long retain it. 

A second cause that modifies the developement 
of puberty, is the quantity and quality of ALIMENT. 

Very nutritious food, stimulating meats, aro- 
matics, the habitual use of coffee, wine, liqueurs, 
&c., greatly accelerate this period. Farinaceous 
substances, roots and vegetable diet, and even 
the habitual use of milk, cheese, &c., rather re- 
tard it. . 

Hence we observe, that the rich and the in- 
habitants of towns, who eat animal food and live 
in abundance, reach maturity sooner than the poor 
and the peasantry, who rarely eat meat, and can 
obtain but a limited proportion of bread or of less 
nutritious food. Hence, also, we see that well-fed 


12 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


persons are capable of reproducing at an earlier 
period than those who have suffered from scarcity, 
or who have been compelled to use unwholesome 
or unnutritious aliment. 

The use of stimulating and aromatic lotions 
amongst the rich, is also a sure means of accele- 
rating puberty. 

A third cause, modifying the developement of 
puberty, is the moraL conprrion. To this must 
be imputed the difference, independent of aliment, 
which we observe in this respect, between women 
of towns and those of the country. 

In the former, the mode of living differs according 
to the degree of opulence ; but even the poor strug- 
gle to imitate the rich, and many other circum- 
stances multiply excitement—as the reading of 
fashionable. novels, voluptuous pictures, licentious 
theatrical scenes, conversations upon love, the con- 
stant proximity of the sexes, exciting dances, and 
many other causes, some of them of still more inju- 
rious character. The result is, that persons thus 
excited almost always reach puberty several years 
earlier than those who pass their childhood in the 
tranquillity of rural life. Puberty may then occur 


about twelve years of age—a premature develope- 
ment, which diminishes strength of body and vigour 
of mind, deteriorates all moral qualities, and is 
extensively fatal to life and its permanent enjoy- 
ment. 


PUBERTY, ITS PERIOD, Xe. 13 


In the country, on the contrary, the children of 
the peasantry are brought up coolly, are much in 
the open air, and of necessity actively employed. 
Toil directs the blood and the vital powers chiefly 
to the organs of motion, and augments perspiration. 
The locomotive system consequently increases at 
the expense of the vital one; and the developement 
of the bones and of muscular power predomi- 
nates over every other. Amongst country people, 
moreover, the manners are generally simple, the 
sexes are less in contact, and their presence is 
less calculated to seduce. Hence, in the country, 
many girls do not reach puberty before eighteen. 

It has been observed that, at all times, the RE- 
TARDATION of puberty retards also the develope- 
ment of the intellectual powers, but preserves 
energy and freshness to the sentiments, and de- 
velopes vigorous bodies; and that if, in woman, 
this state be prolonged after the ordinary period, 
she appears to approximate to man both in some 
of her tastes and in some of her external charac- 
teristics. 

In taking a general view of the period of pu- 
berty thus modified, it appears that, in Europe, 
women reach it later in the north than in the 
south. In some elevated northern regions, it 


does not occur till after twenty years of age. 
In our own country, it occurs from fourteen to 


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14 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE, 


sixteen in girls, and from sixteen to eighteen in 
boys. In most parts of France, puberty in women 
commences usually at fourteen years of age; and, 
in the southern departments and the great towns, 
at thirteen. In Italy, it takes place at twelve. 
This is also the case very generally with the Spa- 
nish women; and, at Cadiz, they often marry at 
that age. In Greece, itis not unusual for puberty 
to occur at ten years of age. In Persia, according 
to Chardin, it occurs at nine or ten. Nearly the 
same is the case in Arabia, Barbary, Egypt, Abys- 
sinia, Senegal and various parts of Africa. Thus, 
puberty in women commences generally, in tropi- 
cal climates, from nine to ten years of age. 

~ This early developement of the reproductive or- 
gans and functions is by no means advantageous. 
In the nations that reach maturity early, the union 
of the sexes before the- completion of growth 
diminishes the stature of young persons; beauty 
fades and perishes at a tender age; and they be- 
come aged and impotent early: citius pubescunt, 
citius senescunt. Their old age is a long one.— 
On the contrary, the northern nations, who more 
slowly arrive at maturity, obtain sufficient time for 
the strengthening of the body; and they retain 
their strength, youthful aspect, and reproductive 
power to an advanced age. 


CHANGES IN LOCOMOTIVE SYSTEM. 15 


The Changes caused by Puberty. 


When puberty takes place in a regular manner, 
it produces a general change in existence. Or- 
gans, formerly torpid, enter into action; certain 
wants are, for the first time, felt; and new rela- 
tions to society are created ; — in short, the child 
ceases to be so, and its relation to the species is 


proclaimed by characteristics which more and more 
tend to distinguish the sexes. 


SECTION II. 


CHANGES IN THE LOCOMOTIVE SYSTEM. 


It is at this period that we often observe youths 
to increase suddenly several inches in stature; and 


if the growth be equal throughout the body, it 
forms handsome individuals. 


There often occurs, however, at this period, a 
weakness of the muscles, with a great developement 
of the bones, and especially of the joints, which 


gives to young men a clumsy and awkward ap- 
pearance. 


While, moreover, growth is proceeding in all di- 
rections, the weaker parts appear not always to re- 


se eR nen te 


“gee oe 


A aiai al tl Dl iti nal gon te 


earner errors 


pases eae 


16 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


ceive sufficient nutritive supplies, and the strong 
parts acquire an excess of energy: hence we fre- 


quently observe something out of proportion at , 


this period. i 
Upon the whole, however, the muscles, as well 
as the bones, acquire greater developement and vi- 
gour, and the arms and legs increase in size and 
power. Their muscular forms appear, indeed, the 
more developed, because their cellular tissue sinks 
down, in consequence of the diminution of its vital 

activity. 

A young man at puberty consequently possesses 
muscles more square, limbs more robust, a firmer 
gait, a bolder demeanour. 

The motive organs connected with the voice are 
not less affected than those of the general system. 
The hyoid bone, or bone of the tongue, is fre- 
quently completed about eighteen; and the mus- 
cles of the glottis then acquire a peculiar increase 
of growth, which, in young men, renders the voice 
lower by an octave. 

In young women, also, the muscles of the glottis 
receive an increase and a vigour which confer force 


and brilliance upon speech. “Hence,” says a 
French writer, “ young girls like to sing and to dis- 
play the attractions of their voice. Thisis a decided 
indication of the state of the reproductive organs: 
and we similarly see among birds, that the more 


CHANGES IN THE VITAL SYSTEM. 17 


they are affected by erotic desires, the greater is 
the ardour with which they sing.” 


SECTION III. 


CHANGES IN THE VITAL SYSTEM. 


The GENERAL INFLUENCE of puberal develope- 
ment is, at an early period, manifested in the or- 
gans of digestion, by the want of much food, and by 
deranged appetite. There naturally follows a 
superabundance of those humours that nature had 
previously applied more exclusively to growth. 
The power of the arteries augments, and the circu- 
lation assumes an unwonted activity. All the vital 
functions dependent on this are executed with ve- 
hemence. The chest increases, and respiration 
becomes free. The blood also, being acted upon by 
a stronger impulse, produced probably by a more 
powerful excitement from the nervous system, its 
organ the heart warms all the parts, colours them, 
and communicates to them fulness and freshness. 

Such changes in the state and circulation of that 
liquid from which all others are formed, necessarily 
bestows, on each of these, qualities, and communi- 


18 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


cates to them impulsions, of a corresponding de- 
scription. Those vessels which enter into the se- 
cretory organs redouble their action; the glands of 
the neck, breasts, arm-pits and groins, swell and 
sometimes become painful. This tendency neces- 
sarily and especially extends towards the glandular 
or more essential parts of the reproductive organs. 

There is this, then, in common to both sexes at 
the time of puberty, that the blood is specially di- 
rected towards the parts subservient to reproduc- 
tion; and, as this is accompanied by increased sen- 
sibility, these organs awake from their torpor and 
rapidly expand. They are then no longer subordi- 
nate, but become a powerful source of vital activity, 
and have a general influence over the whole of the 
economy. 

In the maxx, the flow of blood towards the repro- 
ductive organs, accompanied by sensibility, tur- 
gescence and heat, causes the secretion of the re- 
productive liquid. A sensation of heaviness, how- 
ever, and a general numbness, affect the loins and 
the vicinity of these parts, and a confused tumult 
pervades the body. Meanwhile, the external re- 
productive organs are further developed.—In some 
persons, it should be observed, the testes remain, 
during infancy, concealed in the cavity of the pelvis; 
but, at the period of puberty, they descend. 

The down upon the pubes, and that which after- 


CHANGES IN THE VITAL SYSTEM. 19 


wards forms the beard, begin to grow; and it is 
now that hair makes its appearance in the arm-pits 
and on the chest, and that the whole body is 
covered with a still softer down. It is at this pe- 


riod, also, among animals, that the production of — 


horns and of certain callous protuberances takes 
place. 

In some animals, the reproductive liquid commu- 
nicates to all the other liquids a strong odour, which 
causes both the species and the sex to be easily 
distinguished. This effluvium is a natural stimu- 
lant between the sexes: it is easily distinguishable 
in man. 

In the FEMALE, the ovaries secrete a particular 


liquid, which concurs in furnishing elements for the 
embryo. This is contained in the vesicles which are 
denominated ova, as these are in the ovaria. 

There is now felt a weight about the loins and a 
general supineness. The matrix receives anin- 
creased supply of liquids, and becomes a centre of 
actions with which the vital powers are greatly con- 


nected. An excess of vitality would seem to pass 
also to those parts that are sympathetically con- 
nected with the ovaries and matrix. The canal of 
the vagina, though pressed by the swelling of the 
neighbouring organs, becomes capable of dilatation, 
as well as of acquiring an intense sensibility from 
the erotic orgasm. The nymphee swell, redden, and 


TE am hdl en Decl noone teen a 


RC a se 


a eee 


oe Se ee 


20 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE, 


become highly sensitive; the clitoris is developed, 
and the hymen is distended. 

The cellular tissue surrounding the external re- 
productive organs has a greater quantity of fatty 


matter deposited in its cells, in consequence of 
which it swells, and gives an elastic contraction to 
the vulva. The down which covers the exterior, in- 
creases in extent, thickness and darkness of colour. 
Even the bones of the pelvis augment in size, 
width, and strength. 

The developement of the mamme increases in 
proportion to the greater activity of the matrix. 
The lobes of which they are composed augment in 
size, and are separated by fatty masses; their lac- 
teal vessels acquire a state of erection; they become 
rounded and of beautiful form; the nipples en- 
large, become red, and acquire a lively sensibility ; 
and they thus form in front of the chest very con- 
siderable firm projections, that at once fulfil the 
first object of nature and confer beauty on the 
bust. 

A general excitement appears to be given to the 
cellular tissue, which pervades all parts of the body, 
and which, being replete with juices, fills up the 
interstices of the muscles, communicates to the 
whole surface a soft, smooth, elastic and volup- 
tuous fulness, and, collecting round every impor- 
tant and interesting part, renders it projecting, de- 


CHANGES IN THE VITAL SYSTEM. 21 


fines its outlines, and forms those fine and delicate 
contours which are constant objects of admira- 
tion. | ; 

From the first moment of puberty, the maiden 
begins to acquire, not merely those beautiful forms, 
but a rapid and considerable increase of growth and 
adaptation to purpose, of which the former are only 
the signs. The completion of puberty is the pe- 
riod when the qualities which constitute female 
beauty begin to shine in all their splendour. 

It is from this period, also, that women in good 
health are impregnated with a natural odour, an 
exciting cause established by nature, and operating 
more powerfully than is commonly observed. 

The developement of the mammæ, already de- 
scribed, generally precedes the first appearance of 
the catamenia, and is their indicator. The matrix 
then receiving a remarkable activity, the blood 
flows thither, and determines a plethora, which 
is monthly discharged. 

The reproductive organs in woman now no longer 
subsist in a subordinate condition, but, on the 
contrary, dominate over the whole animal eco- 
nomy. 


Chlorosis, illustrating these Changes. 


Instead of the natural progression of these phe- 
homena, there sometimes occurs a state of debility, 


29 ‘CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


an absence of excitability, i in those organs by which 
the female participates in reproduction. This ap- 
pears to cause the non-appearance of the cata- 
menia, and of the other phenomena of puberty, as 
well as great derangement of the general economy, 
evidenced in extraordinary tastes and depraved ap- 
petites. 

The majority of chlorotic girls eat with avidity 
salt, plaster, hair, charcoal, sealing-wax, and drink 
vinegar and a variety of other unnutritious sub- 
stances. This is generally accompanied by dis- 
orders, more or less intense, of the digestive organs, 
a softness of the flesh, and the almost œdema- 
tous swelling of the lower members, a discolora- 
tion of the exterior of the body, a. complexion 
pale and sickly white, with a greenish tint, sunken 
eyes, extreme nervous susceptibility, and a multi- 
tude of nervous disorders. 

That these maladies depend on the state of the 
organs of reproduction, is proved by their yield- 
ing in proportion as the activity of these ig in- 
creased; by their being remedied only when the 
matrix and the ovaries enter into the regular order 
of their functions; and by the possibility even of 
curing them suddenly, by leaving a free course to 
the exercise of those faculties which have just been 
developed. 

Under these circumstances, it becomes dangerous 


CHANGES IN THE VITAL SYSTEM. 23 


to increase the young woman’s desire for inactivity, 
or aversion to society; and it is wisely recom- 
mended, that she should be induced to read works 
of imagination, to cultivate music, painting and 
poetry, and to pass from study to amusement. 
With those interested in her, it is urged, that every 
opportunity should be seized of procuring for her 
lively and pleasing amusement; that she should 
be constantly led to combat her natural frigidity, 
and increase her activity; that she should be per- 
mitted to attend parties, balls and theatres; and 
that they must avail themselves of every opportu- 
nity of awakening in her the softer emotions, 


Natural Defects, illustrating these Changes. 


The observations of the most accurate physiolo- 
gists have shown, that those women in whom the 
matrix and the ovaries have remained, owing either 
to organic fault, or defect of sensibility, in complete 
repose during the whole of their lives, have always 
had forms and manners very similar to those of 
men—a sufficient proof that their presence gives 
the feminine character. 

Morgagni observed that the skin of sterile wo- 
men is commonly coarse, and destitute of that soft- 
ness and delicacy which are peculiar to the female 
sex. Nuns, as well as old women, often present 
moustaches and beards, which made Bartholine 


24 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


say, “ Ob desuetudinem virorum et mensuum de- 
fectum barbatæ fiunt,” 


Extirpation, illustrating these Changes. 


When young pullets are made capons, by cutting 
out the floating horns of the matrix which join the 
ovaries, the operation prevents their laying eggs, 
and makes them avoid the male. These mutilated 
females live solitarily, avoid herding with others, 
and are useful only to bring up the offspring of 
others. 

In the same manner, as observers worthy of cre- 
dit assure us, in women from whom the ovaries 
have been removed, erotic desire diminishes, the 
catamenia cease, a beard appears, the mammæ 
fade away, and the voice becomes rough; in short, 
the results of that operation in women are gene- 
rally the reverse of those which occur to men 
from the operation of castration. 

It can scarcely, I think, be better proved that 
the female character depends on the presence of 
the ovaries. 


Retardation in the Male, illustrating these 
Changes. 
If the retardation of puberty in the male is of 
long continuance, his osseous and muscular parts 
gradually approach, in their forms, to those of the 


CHANGES IN THE VITAL SYSTEM. 25 


female, and give a corresponding resemblance to 
his general figure. He even presents that greater 
proportional size of the pelvis which characterises 
woman, and he consequently walks similarly, de- 
scribing a greater arch around the centre of gravity. 

In this case, as usual, the condition of the loco- 
motive system is participated by that of the voice, 
In some of these equivocal persons, the voice is as 
acute as in woman. 

It should be added, that the whole texture of the 
body is more soft, and that, in these cases, the 
physical condition appears always to be accompa- 
nied by a corresponding moral disposition. 

Under these circumstances, stimulating and 
strengthening food, as well as an active life, tra- 
velling and manly exercises, tend to give tone to 
the organs. 


Castration, illustrating these Changes. 


How powerful the irradiation of the reproductive 
organs must be, is also proved to us by the effects 
of castration. 


The ancients succeeded in depriving men of the 
procreative faculty, by destroying the testes by 
means of the long-continued application to the scro- 
tum of the inspissated juice of the hemlock. 

We are also told that the priests of Cybele cured 
mania by means of actual castration :—« Qui ante 

c 


aminan Ls ne wad A ai > 


r n me nar pga io inik 
e enn poner SE 


nc 
{aor cio ne en Eee 


26 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


castrationem maniaci erant, sanam aliquanto men- 
tem ab illo recuperant.” Aetius says that some 
who were tormented with priapism, were castrated 
by their own hands:——“ Novimus quosdam audaciores 
qui sibi ipsis testes ferro resecarunt.” It is well 
known that Origen mutilated himself, in order 
that he might no longer have to struggle conti- 


nually with an erotic temperament. 

In modern times, castration has been performed 
in western Europe, principally in Italy, in order to 
provide soprani singers for the pope’s chapel and 
the stage of the opera. In Naples, at one time, 
there were barbers’ shops with the sign, “ Què si 
castrano ragazzi a buon mereato”’—Here boys 
are castrated cheap ! 

In those times, an absurd notion prevailed that 
the quality of voice thus attained, would, in some 
measure, depend on the state of the weather at the 
time of the operation. The occurrence of bad 
weather was thought extremely prejudicial: hence 
the anecdote of Paesiello, that when one day, I for- 
get whether at church or theatre, a chorus of eu- 
nuchs were uttering discordant sounds, he rose in 
arage and cried out to them, “ Maledetti da Dio 
foste voi tutti castrati in cattivo tempo?” at which 
old Ferdinando exclaimed, “ Bravo, bravo, Paesi- 
ello!” and the congregation loudly applauded. 

In consequence of this operation, not only do the 


CHANGES IN THE VITAL SYSTEM. 27 


desires of love disappear, but the general organiza- 
tion is singularly affected. 

Eunuchs increase in stature like other men, and 
even more in proportion; but they have a configu- 
ration and habits very analogous to those of women. 

In them the bones, which form the prominence 
of the haunches, are much expanded, and there- 
fore form a pelvis of uncommon capacity; the thigh- 
bones are less arched than in man; and the knees 
incline more inward, which proceeds from the 
greater distance existing between the heads of the 
thigh-bones, in consequence of which eunuchs, like 
women, when they walk, render very evident the 
change of their centre gravity, marked as it ig by the 
arch which they describe at every step. The curva- 
tures of some bones also change direction. The arti- 
culations swell. There are few eunuchs who 
have the limbs muscular, athletic and well marked: 
they are generally round, soft and covered with a 
fine and delicate skin. The muscles themselves be- 
come enfeebled, the strength decreases, and even 
the pulse loses its elasticity. 

To be convinced of the influence which the 
testes exercise over muscular power and courage in 
every species of animals, it is sufficient to observe 
the difference between a ram and a tup, a bull and 
an Ox, a cock and a capon. 

The narrowness of the larynx is a remarkable 

CZ 


“28 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE, 


characteristic of the eunuch. All who have ex- 
amined the larynx of castrati, to discover the reason 
of their preserving the infantine voice, have acknow- 
ledged the truth of this observation. Dupuytren, 
in dissecting the larynx of a person who had been 
castrated in infancy, was enabled to satisfy himself of 
this. He observed that, in this person, the larynx 
was less, by one-third, than in adults of the same 
age and stature; that the glottis was much nar- 
rower ; and that the laryngeal cartilages were little 
developed ; so that all these parts resembled those 
of a woman or aboy. The change that takes place 
in the voice of castrati is well known; and nearly 
the same changes are observable in castrated ani- 
mals. 

The lymphatic glandular system of castrati is ge- 
nerally gorged and inert. The cellular tissue becomes 
more abundant, more loose, and more replete with 
fat. It is, indeed, known to be a common prac- 
tice to castrate animals, in order to fatten them, 
and to give to their flesh a more delicate taste. 
Hence the older writers tell us, “Cutis castratorum 
tenera est instar mulierum et levis,” and “ Eunuchi 
omnes habent alvum laxum, levitatem cutis.” 

I have now to mention some of the most remark- 
able approximations of castrati to women. 

Chlorosis, the peculiar affection of young girls, 
does not spare the eunuch. Cabanis tells us that 


CHANGES IN THE VITAL SYSTEM. 29 


he observed this disease in various young men, 
with this difference, that in them it was of short 
duration, and disappeared with age, whilst in cas- 


trati it remained a long time, nor had age any in- 
fluence over it. 

A fact which is constant, though little observed, 
is, that castrati are subject to periodical hæmor- 
rhages, which ordinarily proceed from the hæmor- 
rhoidal vessels. In this case, it would seem that the 
blood necessary to the developement of the repro- 
ductive organs and of the beard, and likewise that 
destined for the secretion of the reproductive liquid, 
is directed towards the hæmorrhoidal veins, and 
distends them, so that, being debilitated, they open 
and throw it out. There is, then, established a 
hæmorrhoidal flux, which gradually becomes pe- 
_ viodical. Ossiander made this observation even in 
many beardless men; and he also observed that 
bearded women have no catamenia. 


The change which takes place in the moral dis- 


positions of castrati is equally remarkable. — 

Their understanding in reality appears to suffer 
from the absence of those impressions which give to 
the brain of men so much activity, though that ac- 


tivity is excited by sexual impressions. It is, in- 


deed, asserted that this faculty is altered from the 
moment when the knife cuts them off from nature. 
Sinibaldi says, that the minds of eunuchs are 


~~ a mae 


50 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


changed, and become artful and depraved, and that 
there was never one of first-rate understanding,* 

Even the castrati who acquire some celebrity on 
the stage of the opera, and in the churches of Ro- 
man Catholic countries, owe a great part of their 
merit rather to a good organization of the organs of 
hearing and of voice, than to their understanding: 
In general, they infuse, even into music, neither 
feeling nor expression; and it is asserted that not 
one of them was ever able to compose a decent air. 

Huart asserts that even the person endowed 
with remarkable genius and great ability, when the 
testes are removed, begins to lose his genius; and 
he adds, “if any one doubt this, let him con- 
sider that out of a thousand eunuchs who have 
devoted themselves to learning, scarcely one has 
become learned.+ 

The castrato is cowardly and incapable of great 
enterprises. Narses is perhaps the only imposing 
exception to this rule, by having displayed some 


* Eunuchorum animos mutari, evadere dolosos ac pra- 
vos, nec unquam castratum fuisse optimi intellectiis. 

+ Testatur nobis experientia, ille qui testibys orbatas 
fuerit, quum ante insigni ingenio multaque habilitate 
præditus fuerit, posteaquam exacta illi pensilia sunt, in- 
genium perdere incepit. . . Quod si quis non credit, 
consideret uti ego quidem pluries feci, e mille spado- 
nibus qui litterarum studiis operam addixere, vix unum 
aliquem doctum evasisse. 


CHANGES IN THE VITAL SYSTEM. 31 


talent in war. Cut off as he is from all social rela- 
tions, he can think only of himself, and becomes an 
egotist from necessity. 

Eunuchs have, moreover, all the defects of feeble 
beings. Imperious and despotic in good fortune, 
they become vile slaves under reverses. ‘They are 
perhaps the most degraded class of the human spe- 
cies—“ cowardly and deceitful, because they are 
feeble, envious and wicked, because they are 
wretched.” 

The greater number of castrati see women only 
to slander them. It is, perhaps, a rage on account 
of their own degradation that renders them fit guar- 
dians of the harem: it is not improbable that “ they 
find a satisfaction in opposing the slightest amuse- 
ments of women, as it is the desire of every feeble 
and incapable being to see ‘others reduced to his 
own state of impotence.” 

The organs of reproduction doubtless dispose of 


much of the sensibility and nervous action of the . 


cerebro-spinal system. But when this ceases, by the 
amputation of the former, these nervous influences 
are, no doubt, dispersed over the other organs. Hence 
we observe that castrati are subject to a morbid 
sensibility, become liable to nervous diseases or 
vapours, as they are called, and, on the slightest 
mental commotion, fall into deliquium. Often a 


named eens meee een 


nc nme te anna 


32 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


profound apathy takes possession of them, and they — 
sink into a gloomy and fatal melancholy, 

It has, moreover, been observed that, even in the 
case of early impotence, as well as in certain dis- 
eases, which, without producing that state, parti- 
cularly affect the organs of reproduction, the whole 
existence is singularly affected ; that in men who in 
the vigour of age become suddenly impotent, al- 
though they are otherwise in good health, are much 
occupied, and habits of moderation cause little re- 
gret for the desires which they have lost, yet their 
disposition becomes gloomy and morose, and their 
mind appears, ere long, to be daily enfeebled ; and 
that (which is most remarkable) these conditions 
of the reproductive system particularly dispose to 
superstitious terror—a singular effect, says Caba- 
nis, which appears always to follow a very marked 
degradation of the reproductive organs. 

_ The differences as to the mode and the period of 
castration, produce much difference in its effects, 

When men or animals are subjected to this 
operation at an early age, they are much more de- 
naturalised than when it is performed after pu- 
berty. 

In the former case, the cause of the great phe- 
nomena which characterise puberty is destroyed, 
and the members never acquire their beautiful 


CHANGES IN THE VITAL SYSTEM. 33 


masculine forms; the vocal organs remain in the 
state of imperfection in which they are found at 
first; the voice continues harsh and acute; and 
the beard never grows. te 

When, on the contrary, castration takes place 
after the age of puberty, the nature of man is less 
changed; the larynx dilates and grows rapidly ; 

the voice assumes its grave and powerful tone; the 
beard remains; erotic desires continue for a long 
time; and the external manifestations of masculine 
power occur.* But reproductive power is lost for 
ever. 

The same is observed in various animals, The 
characteristic signs of the masculine sex do not 
appear. An example is furnished by the stag, in 
which horns grow at the period when he becomes 
fit for reproduction. If he is castrated before this, 
he remains for ever deprived of that ornament. 
But if that operation be performed after the horns 
have gained their full growth, they neither fall nor 
are renewed. 

It appears, also, that the complete amputation of 
all external organs of reproduction, destroys the 
desires associated with them much more com- 
pletely and more generally than partial amputation. 


* « Et majoris petulantie fieri,” says Arnobius, “ atque 
omnibus propositis pudoris et verecundiæ frenis in ob- 
secenam prorumpere virilitatem.” 

c 3 


34 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


On this, Mojon, to whom I am indebted for many 
facts on the subject, makes the following observa- 
tions, which I leave in the original Italian. 

“`E riconosciuto che Puomo castrato, benchè 
sterile, è peraltro suscettivo di gustare in parte 4 
piaceri del coito, purché non gli sieno state ampu- 
tate tutte le parti esterne della generazione. Cio 
che gli rimane non acquista che pochissimo accre- 
scimento, restando presso a poco nello stato in cui 
era prima dell’ operazione. Un fanciullo mutilato 
all’ età di sei anni, si trova a diciotto anni, per cid 
che spetta al pene, nella stessa condizione di 
quella sua prima età. Coloro al contrario che 
hanno sofferto operazione all’ epoca della puberta 
ed anche più tardi, hanno la verga press’a poco 
come quella degli altri uomini, e capace di erezione 
più durevole ed anche più ripetuta che nei non 
castrati. 

“ Giovenale rimprovera alle Romane i loro ec- 
cessi con gli eunuchi. 


Sunt quos eunuchi imberbes ac mollia semper 
Oscula delectent, et desperatio barbæ, 
Et quod abortivo non est opus. 


“« Rainaud, nel suo libro De Eunuchis, narra 
molti esempi di commercio impuro tra donne e 
uomini mutilati; ed egli si ride della confidenza 
che molti hanno in costoro. Andrea De Verdier 


CHANGES IN THE VITAL SYSTEM. 30 


dice la stessa cosa, appoggiando la sua opinione 
alla sentenza di Apollonio Tianeo contro un eunuco 
del re di Babilonia che fu sorpreso a letto nelle 
braccia d’una favorita del re stesso. 

“< Mi è noto, dice P. Frank, un luogo popolato 
in cui quattro castrati s’arrischiavano ad imprese 
che non avrebbero tentate nello stato loro naturale, 
edin cui una parte del bel sesso non senza grave 
scandalo e pregiudizio aveva seco loro stretta tal 
pratica, che il governo non potè più lungamente 
dissimularla. 

“ Non potendo soddisfare che al desiderio della 
carne, alla semplice sensualita, alla lussuria, alla 
dissolutezza, essendo nell’ assoluta impossibilta di 
procreare, essi divengono piu propri ai delitti che 
gli uomini perfetti ; e sono più ricercati dalle donne 
depravate, giacchè loro danno il piacere del matri- 
monio senza ch’esse ne corrano il rischio. Essi 
emettono con qualche poco di volutta un umore mu- 
coso che probabilmente è segregato dalla prostata. 

“ Amurat II. essendosi avveduto che un cavallo 
castrato copriva una giumenta, fece tagliare ai suoi 
eunuchi, rientrando nel serraglio, tutte le parti 
esterne della generazione. Vi è chi pretende che 
siada quell’ epoca, che, oltre i testicoli, si taglia 
ancora la verga agli uomini destinati per la custodia 
de’ serragli.” 
= No proofs, then, can be more complete than 


36 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE, 


those which we possess of the omnipotence of the 
ovarian influence over the character of woman. 


The Catamenia. 


Woman is every month subject to a sanguineous 
flow from the matrix, an universal and essential 
event in the life of the female. 

The cause of this is evidently the same with that 
of her early puberty—the disproportion in which 
the vital system is, to the locomotive and nervous 
systems. 

Thus, the female becomes possessed of a greater 
quantity of blood than is required for her indivi- 
dual preservation. Thus, she is enabled, when 
pregnant, to supply a sufficient quantity for the 
nourishment of the foetus. Thus, when suckling, 
she can afford the vast secretion of milk. And 
thus, at all other periods, this blood, being voided, 
furnishes the catamenial flow. 

The law which regulates the period of this oc- 
currence, seems to be of extensive influence in na- 
ture. The erotic orgasm of quadrupeds and 
birds occurs about the vernal or the autumnal 
equinox: but, if its purpose be not attained, it is 
said to resemble the catamenia in woman, by re- 
curring at about monthly periods. 

The first period of the occurrence of the cata- 
menia is the same as that of puberty. But causes 


CHANGES IN THE VITAL SYSTEM. 37 


of excitement hasten it, and reproduce it when its 
interruption has been caused by debility. 
Its precocious occurrence produces weakness and 
premature old age.. 
Any common account of this event is sufficient 


for our purpose. 

The first eruption of this flow is announced by 
signs denoting fulness of the circulation, and by 
phenomena accompanying disturbance and even 
change in the other functions. 

The girl feels a general lassitude and anxiety, 
and suffers indefinite pains, or numbness of the 
loins, arm-pits, pelvis, thighs and fundament. She 
is deprived of sleep; her head becomes heavy, 
heated and painful; respiration ceases to be as 
free as usual; and the pulse is full, unsteady and 
quickened. The mamme swell, harden and suffer 
a painful tension. The cutaneous system, particu- 
larly the skin of the feet, is frequently the seat of 
superficial inflammations, slight efflorescences and 
even pustular blotches. The eyes are generally 
. red, weak and watery; the eye-lids, the lower one 
especially, assume a brownish tinge, and bleeding 
at the nose and spitting of blood are by no means 
uncommon. . 

The external reproductive organs, for some 
time swollen and puffed up, are moistened by a 
lymphatic humour, at first of a light colour, but ina 


38 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


few days assuming the character of red and vermi- 
lion-coloured blood.—The vital excitement then 
decreases, and a general loosening of the whole 
economy takes place; the eyes lose their brilliance, 
become dull and sunken; and the lower eyelid is 
bounded by a livid circle. 

Surprised at these phenomena, she remains 
for some time in a state of feebleness and languor. 
At last, the uterus, which had fallen a little, rises 
and resumes its position; it is then fit for concep- 
tion ; everything is again in order; . tranquillity 
is established; and the object of nature is ful- 
filled. 

Nearly similar symptoms, though generally 
much less severe, announce the return of the flow. 
At first, it occurs at irregular periods; and some- 
times it does not re-appear for several months; 
but it constantly tends more and more to assume 
the periodical character. 

The vessels of the whole of the matrix, but prin- 
cipally those of its fundus or bottom, appear to 
be the immediate sources of the catamenia. 

It continues ordinarily from three to six or seven 
days. 

Its quantity is generally from two to three 
ounces ; and, in temperate climates, the most san- 
guine woman does not discharge more than from 
eight to twelve ounces. 


CHANGES IN THE VITAL SYSTEM. 39 


This quantity varies according to climate. The 
Lapland and Samoiede women void but a very 
small quantity; and the Greenland women, scarcely 
any. ‘The nearer we approach the equator, the 
more the quantity increases; and, in Italy and the 
south of Europe, it sometimes reaches twelve 
ounces. Under the tropics, it is said to rise to 
twenty ounces; and it sometimes occurs twice in a 
month. 

There are great varieties, in this respect, ace’ 
cording to constitution. In general, it is more 
considerable in dark women of ardent temperament, 
than in fair women of milder character. It is 
also more copious in towns, and among sedentary 
women and those who indulge in the pleasures of 
love, or of the table, than among : countrywomen 
and those whose life is laborious and simple. _ 

The catamenial blood is as pure as that of the ge- 
neral mass; though it is rendered less so in passing 
through the vagina, owing to the secretions with 
which it is then mixed. These secretions proceed 
from small glands at the internal surface of the 
vagina and of the external parts,—glands perfectly 
analogous to those which, in female animals, during 
their cestrum, furnish a secretion so powerfully 
odorous, as to produce around them, emanations by 
which the male is attracted. 


40 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE, 


It is observed, that the first occurrence of the 
catamenia is generally succeeded by a striking de- 
velopement of female charms. 

‘This evacuation recurs every month with great: 
regularity, except during pregnancy; and it cor- 
responds in some females to the phases of the 
moon. Many women are subject to it about the 
time of the new moon. A vast number of cases, 
no doubt, deviate from that order; and there are 
women to whom it occurs twice a month. 

Generally, this flow does not begin before the 
maiden is nearly fit to become a wife and a mother. 

As it does not occur until woman is capable of 
reproducing, as she is commonly sterile when it is 
permanently wanting, and as she becomes so when 
it finally ceases, it was natural to conclude, that 
the catamenial blood, withheld during pregnancy, 
becomes the means of nourishing the fetus. 
Hence its occurrence has been regarded as one of 
the essential conditions of fruitfulness in woman. 
Yet there have been fruitful women who never were 
subject to it. 

It isa fact, indeed, that naturally this flow, at 
each return, causes an orgasm of the reproductive 
organs, a want which women always then feel, and 
a particular aptitude for reproduction. 

The periodical return of this flow constitutes, 


CHANGES IN THE VITAL SYSTEM. 4] 


from about fifteen to forty-five, a function with 
which in woman every other is connected. And 
though pregnancy and suckling suspend this phe- 
nomenon, they doubtless do so only by changing 
its object and direction. 

During the whole of this period, the exercise of 
this function is indispensable to health; and if it 
be irregular in its returns, or be suppressed, beauty 
as well as health disappears. ; 

When it finally ceases, woman loses the power 
of conceiving. Among northern nations, there are 
many women who conceive after the age of forty- 
five or fifty, and men who are capable of begetting 
at the age of seventy. Among the eastern nations, 
the reproductive power decreases after thirty. 
Thenceforward, accordingly, the women of these 
regions confine themselves to domestic duties and 
the education of children. 

In all cases, when age finally destroys the energy 
of the reproductive organs and the faculty of con- 
ception, greater power is obtained by the rest of 
the organization; the mind increases in clearness, 
extent and vivacity; and even woman is more 
under the influence of reflection than feeling. 

With intellect, masculine character is assumed ; 
an additional quantity of hair makes its appear- 
ance on the face; and the voice becomes rough. 
In the same manner, female quadrupeds and birds, 


42 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


after the age for reproduction, acquire the darker 
fur or plumage of males. 
After the time when this flow ceases, the cri- 


tical age, women may expect to live longer than 
men. 


SECTION IV. 


CHANGES IN THE MENTAL SYSTEM. 


Mode in which Uterine Influence produces 
Changes in that System. 


Ir is well known, that the number of the vessels in 
animal bodies is so much the greater, as they are 
nearer the period of their first formation. This, 
as Cabanis observes, not only bestows great faci- 
lity in the course of the blood and the various 
liquids, and great readiness in the exercise of the 
dependent functions, but the sentient nervous ex- 
tremities are thereby placed in a state of remark- 
able expansion, which increases the means of im- 
pression, and gives to every sensation a vividness 
which it can attain only at that age. 

These nerves carry sensibility and action to and 
from all the organs of the body; and each organ, 


= 


ee eee ~~ 


CHANGES IN THE MENTAL SYSTEM. 43 


by the impression it receives and the functions it 
performs, influences the whole nervous system. 
Hence, the effects of a local affection frequently 
become general. 

The more that parts are supplied by nerves de- 
rived from different trunks, or from trunks formed 
by different nerves united, and the more their com- 
munications are consequently free and rapid, the 
more ought their influence to produce phenomena, 
sudden, varied and extraordinary. 


Now, the nerves of the reproductive organs in 
both sexes, though not ‘very remarkable as to 
volume or number, are formed from various other 
nerves; they have relations with those of all 


the viscera of the abdomen; by means of the 
great sympathetic) nerve, which forms among ~ 
these a common union, they are connected with 
the whole nervous system ; and it is by these com 
munications that the matrix is interested in almost 
all the affections of the female. 

The organs of reproduction, then, by their mul- 


tiplied connexions, their great sensibility, and their 
extensive functions, ought naturally to react with 
power on the nervous centres of life, on the brain, 
and on all the highly sensible parts with which 
they are connected; and this reaction ought to be 
especially remarkable when their functions com- 
mence. 


44 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


At the period of nubility, accordingly, the matrix 
forms a centre, whence innumerable nervous irra- 
diations issue; and the activity of that vital centre 
increases daily. Hence the effects which the re- 
productive organs have upon the whole economy 
of woman—talents bursting forth suddenly towards 
the age of puberty—an absolute delirium of ima- 
gination—a newly inspired desire of pleasing— 
emotions of jealousy—not only sexual love, but 
that of children, and even that of devotion, which 
then generally bears the impress of connexion with 
the reproductive organs—and, finally, strange and 
wayward cerebral impressions, caprices of enthu- 
siasm or of antipathy, which submit not to her 
control. 

We are told, however, that those facts which — 
would thus seem to prove the influence of the ma- 
trix over erotic desires, and the developement of 
the moral phenomena of puberty, are contradicted 
by facts of a nature diametrically opposite. Thus, 
if, on one hand, females have been met with who, 
throughout life, have exhibited the most perfect 
indifference for the pleasures of love, and, after 
death, have presented no traces of the matrix, yet, 
on the other hand, women have been known en- 
tirely destitute of the reproductive organs in whom 
the amorous passions existed even in an excessive 
degree. 


CHANGES IN THE MENTAL SYSTEM. 45 


The error here committed is, in not distinguish- 
ing between the matrix and the ovaries, and in con- 
sidering the former as the fundamental and more 
important organ.—Wherever erotic passions are 
present, ovaries will be found: wherever these pas- 
sions are absent, no ovaries will be discovered. 

Thus, all the changes which occur in the feel- 
ings and conduct of girls at puberty, are only the 
consequence of not less remarkable physical 
changes. 


Consequent State of the Mind previous to Love. 


Under these circumstances, the sports Gi infancy 
no longer afford pleasure to girls; and they neg- 
lect those companions younger than themselves 
whose society formerly pleased them. They feel, 
indeed, a void in the heart, which they strive in 

vain to fill. 
= The innocence, candour, frankness and gaiety of 
childhood continue, indeed, for a time, which varies 
with temperament and education. Ere long, how- 
ever, disturbed by a multitude of vague desires, 
they check their frankness and gaiety; they be- 
come timid, reserved, absent and thoughtful; they 
find pleasure in silence, avoid observation, and 
hanker after solitude; and the mind tends to fix 
itself upon those organs that must preside over 
the function of which all this is the mere precur- 
sory sign. 


46 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


The memory, if employed, appears to retrace 
occurrences which were previously disregarded, 
but which young women now imagine may assist 
them in unravelling the seeming mysteries of their 
condition. Imagination, however, by preventing 
their ideas from being fixed on any particular 
point, only increases their trouble, and adds to 
their embarrassment, -They are plunged, there- 
fore, into a state of continued reverie, which, 
though it has no definite subject, is not without 
attraction. They sigh, without knowing its ob- 
ject, and feel relief in tears, which are quite un- 
accountable. 

The puberal and catamenial revolution, how- 
ever, is sometimes complicated by symptoms indi- 
cating a singular derangement of sensibility, and 
establishes itself with great difficulty. 

The maiden then experiences strange inequali- 
ties of temper, and unaccountable caprices, feel- 
ings of joy, sorrow, or anger, to which she readily 
yields, and even desire of death, or contemplation 
of suicide, long before she experiences the disap- 
pointments of love. 

These phenomena were noticed by Hippocrates, 
who says—“ We then hear women wishing for the 
worst calamities, They talk of throwing them- 
selves into wells, or hanging themselves, and of 
seeking a death preferable to their situation. 


CHANGES IN THE MENTAL SYSTEM. 47 


Sometimes, indeed, without being tormented with 
the idea of spectres, they appear to contemplate 
death with pleasure, When the attack is over, 
these patients make vows to Diana, carry their 
jewels to the temples, and hang their most precious 
dresses on the walls, deceived by the priests who 
require these sacrifices of them. . . I think that, 
in such an unhappy situation, the most certain 
remedy is marriage.” 

In this state of excessive susceptibility, reproof 
has been observed to drive.a girl to despair, and 
expressions of regard, to inflame her into passion. 
Everything, therefore, which can irritate and main- 
tain this sensibility, should be carefully removed, 

Now, may be observed, not merely the instinct 
which draws one sex towards the other, and is re- 
strained by fear and reserve, but extravagant 
friendships, and secret confidences between indi- 
viduals of the same sex. And in this way seem 
to be first formed the greater number even of sym- 
pathetic and benevolent dispositions, as well as 
romantic ideas, and illusions of every description. 

Vague passions transport the youth; and he be- 
comes unbending, fiery and desperate at control. 
Gentler affections lead the maiden to love, or to re- 


ligion, which is a species of love, and which pro- - 
duces similar effects. Either may render her in- 
sane; and they are indeed the two great causes 


48 CONDITIONS TERMINATING .IN LOVE. 


of insanity. Hence, itis a frequent remark, that 
madness scarcely ever shows itself in the first period 
of life. . 

It is at this period also, that, in young women, 
sometimes occur great fertility of ideas, and apti- 
tude for the elegant arts, which afterwards give 
place to mediocrity. The same is sometimes the 
case with young men. 

The age at which we have thus the greatest 
number of sensations, at which memory is so ear- 
nestly employed, in which imagination enjoys the 
greatest activity, in which new talents are thus 
excited, is also that in which are collected the 
greater number of ideas, and in which are per- 
haps first attempted those higher mental pro- 
cesses which afterwards distinguish the character. 

Thus, on the activity, the languor, or the dis- 
order of the organs of reproduction, would appear, 
in a great measure, to depend the elevation of 
genius, the abundance of ideas, the highest achieve- 
ments of mind, or their utter and eternal absence. 

The proof that, in woman, all this is produced 
by the influence of the ovaries, has already been 
seen to be, that, when these glands do not exist, 
when they remain in the torpor of infancy, or when 
they have been removed, none of these phenomena 
occur. 

The nervous excitement attending the first ap- 


CHANGES IN THE MENTAL SYSTEM. 49 


peararice of the catamenia is partially renewed at 
each monthly occurrence—sensibility becoming 
more definite and vivid, the physiognomy more 
animated, the language more brilliant, the desires 
more capricious. And this observation may be 
extended to the time of pregnancy. 

At last, then, the mind of the young woman re- 
ceives more accurate notions of a passion which is 
to be the principal affair of her life. And the 
character of her countenance and her look now 
leave no doubt as to the impulse which she has 
received. 


Love. 


From the physical state which has now been 
described, there results in woman a superabun- 
dance of life, which seeks, as it were, to diffuse and 
to communicate itself; and this is indicated by in- 
quietudes and desires which constitute only the 
invitations of pleasure. 

Allis then animated in woman. Her eyes ac- 
quire an expression previously unknown, and 
seem, by a sort of electric spark, to light up the 
amorous flame in every breast formed to sympa- 
thy. Her figure displays all the light and simple 
graces, which man is equally unable and unwilling 
to resist, 

Now, accordingly, the sexes mutually feel a ten- 
| D 


50 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


der and vivid interest in each other. As each is 
the sole object of the other’s desire, they at last see 
in nature nothing but themselves; extravagant 
imagination flings over both all possible excel- 
lences; they indulge in intoxicating dreams of 
beauty and perfection; and each becomes, in the 
conviction of the other, an absolute divinity. 
Even man thinks thus, although he has before his 
eyes the very ordinary mother and other relatives 
of his goddess—the perhaps repulsive beings 
whom she is destined in a few years to resemble. 
` One of the symptoms generally occurring to 
young people, which characterises nascent love, 
which consumes a valuable portion of life, and 
which leads to derangements and disorders of 
every kind, is an indolent and idle melancholy. 
The early stage of love is also characterised by 
a desire which is the cause of moral love—a desire 
to live in chastity, an absence of all notion of that 
enjoyment which is the end of love, a feeling that 
enjoyment would debase the object of love.* 
Each, then, values existence solely for the be- 
loved being, and would cheerfully lose life for the 
object of idolatry. 


* After enjoyment, indeed, illusion vanishes ; the same 
love is never felt again ; and, after the spell is once dis- 
solved, that love isregarded as a romantic folly, or a tem- 
porary insanity, of which the sufferer is thoroughly 
ashamed. 


CHANGES IN THE MENTAL SYSTEM. 51 


While this insanity exists in man, even the 
name of the beloved person makes the heart beat; 
in her presence, a torrent of fire seems to fly 
through the arteries; the touch of her dress makes 
the blood boil; the voice and the reason are nearly 
annihilated; self-possession is totally lost. Even 
when out of the immediate sphere of this influence, 
everything takes its hue from this passion, and 
is called on to aid its progress. The lover, like 
all who suffer, desires to associate all objects in his 
interest; and he is ordinarily humane, beneficent 
and generous, because the want which he expe- 
riences, disposes him to feel for others. 

In proportion as the organs acquire regularity 
in their functions, the maiden begins to have more 
rational ideas of the relations of the Sexes, acquires 
a clearer conception of the object of her desires, 
and no longer deceives herself as to the position in 
which she must stand in regard to the other sex. 
This she is at last taught by love. 

She then delights to dwell upon the good quali- 
ties with which imagination has invested her lover ; | 
he is ever in her mind ; to him every thought is 
referred; he is the hero of all her romances of 
love; and his image is present in her dreams, 

It is worthy of remark that, for the purpose of 
obtaining strong and vigorous progeny, nature has 
assigned to strength the preference in the love of 

D 2 


52 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


the female. Hence all animals become bold and 
warlike at the season of amorous orgasm. Hence 
man is proud of his physical power, and woman 
loves conquerors; as Venus loved the God of 
War. 

Nature accordingly fits the sexes for different 
parts. While the male is thus bold, the female is 
bashful. It is the part of man to attack, and of 
woman to defend. Man chooses the moment when 
circumstances promise him success. Woman is 
aware that the more easily she yields, the less 
merit she retains, and that man attaches himself 
more to one who fixes a high value on her defeat. 

Modesty and feminine resistance, therefore, 
establish an equilibrium between the superiority 
of man and the delicacy of woman: they enable 
woman to give the greatest value to her defeat; 
to yield at the best period to the strength of 
the aggressor; to choose the moment in which it 
is most beneficial to yield; to ensure thereby for 
herself a supporter, a defender; and while man 
thus barters his protection for pleasure, woman, in 


yielding, is a match for his power, and the weaker, 
to a great extent, governs the stronger. 

In aid of the physical suitableness of woman, 
she employs two moral qualities, coquetry and 
modesty, which, though opposed in their first or 
immediate effects, contribute to one great end. 


CHANGES IN THE MENTAL SYSTEM. 53 


Coquetry causes that to be sought, which modesty 
refuses; coquetry excites desires which modesty 
repels, with the. effect at least of increasing their 
activity ; coquetry, by allurements, begins a strug- 
gle which modesty prolongs, and in doing so, it at 
once “renders the victory more delightful, and 
the defeat more honourable.” 

Ménage finds the origin of coquetry in the word 
coq, and says the name was given to those men 
and women who affected to gain the admiration of 
many, as cocks when they make love to their 
hens. 

Natural coquetry, if the mere desire of pleasing 


and attracting by innocent artifices may be so- 


called, exists long before the period when love mo- 
difies the character. The look of the girl, the sound 
of her voice, her language, her whole demeanour 


seem to court the affections. 


With increasing opportunity, she learns what is - 


passing in the minds of men, and understands the 
meaning of every look, word and action. F inally, 
she in particular perceives attention, distinguishes 
the look of desire, &c.—invaluable attainments for 
her to whom nature has rendered it necessary to 


seduce and subjugate the stronger by the charms 


of beauty and grace. 
Rousseau correctly perceived the relations of 
coquetry to the constitution of women, and re- 


bes A a SRN SEE a os ee, ER 


(| ii 


| 
/ 


54 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


garded it as one of the happiest affections, Painting 
it even among birds, he says, “ Step by step the 
white dove follows her well beloved, and flees from 
him directly he returns. If he remain inactive, 
she arouses him with gentle taps of her beak; if 
he return, she pursues him; if he defend him- 
self, a little flight of six steps attracts him again : 
the innocence of nature contrives these allurements 
and this gentle resistance, with an art that the 
most skilful coquetry can scarcely equal.”* 

Defects are now concealed; charms are re- 
vealed and enhanced; and attention is called to 
them in every way. Dress becomes an important 
' agent; and, at this age, its style is cheaper and in 
better taste than afterwards. Plain stuffs acquire 
elegant shapes; and every fold of drapery is cal- 
culated to produce the greatest effect. 

Some notion even of the agreement, adaptation 
and distribution of colours is acted upon; and if 
women cannot assist the complexion by well- 
managed contrasts and harmonies, they at least 


* La blanche colombe va suivant pas à pas son bien 
aimé, et prend chasse elle.méme aussitét qu'il retourne. 
Reste-t-il dans ľinaction, de légers coups de bec le ré- 
_ veillent ; s'il se retire, elle le poursuit ; sil se défend, un 
petit vol de six pas l’attire encore ; l’innocence de la na- 
ture ménage les agaceries et la molle résistance, avec un 
art qu'aurait à peine la plus habile coquette. 


CHANGES IN THE MENTAL SYSTEM. 55 


produce an agreeable agitation on the organ of 
sight, fix observation on themselves, avoid every 
offensive distraction, and enable every movement, 
every attitude to show off their contours and out- 
line. 

“‘Ruinous whims,” says Rousseau, “ freaks of 
wealth, diamonds, rich draperies, and the splen- 
dour of strange ornaments, are tacit avowals of 
the outrages of time and the decay of beauty. 
Being no longer able to appear beautiful, women 
strive to dazzle; but young girls are too sen- 
sible of the value of their privileges to abuse them 
in that way.” 

The importance of coquetry in the constitution 
of woman has now been seen. She thereby learns 
to increase her attractions; she cultivates every 
agreeable art; she derives from dress resources 
which at once improve and announce her taste; 
and she studies to acquire the graces. Coquetry 
also diffuses a general emulation to please, gives 
to society a cheerful aspect, and contributes much 
to the attractions of life. 

This natural and useful sentiment is abused, 
however, when it becomes a desire to captivate all 
men, without attaching to any one—an art ha- 
bitually practised. And when it is combined with 
excessive vanity, and supported by wealth, it 


perverts sensibility, and stifles all the affections 
and virtues, 


56 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


Thus perverted, it leads to actions the most ri- 
diculous or blameable. <“ Who,” says Montaigne, 
“has not heard of the girl at Paris, who had her- 
self skinned, solely to acquire a complexion of 
fresher hue?” And who, we may add, is ignorant 
how universally the natural beauty of the shape 
is sacrificed to the foolish mandates of fashion ? 

Maidenly differs from matronly form chiefly as 
to the slenderness or the thickness of the waist. 
No wonder, then, that the maiden prefers her 
proper characteristic! But this is generally car- 
ried to an excess as ridiculous as it is frightful. 
Complete deformity of the figure is earned, only at 
the cost of deep weals cutting the sides to the 
quick, a dangerous compression of the chest pro- 
ducing aneurism, curvature of the spine, &c, a 
pressure upon the mammæ which may cause either 
swelling and cancer, or withering and absorption, 
a turning inward of the brim, and that general de- 
formity, of the pelvis, which, becoming too narrow 
to permit the head of the foetus to pass, may render 
delivery possible only by the Cesarian operation, 
cutting open the belly of the unfortunate mother, 
or dividing the symphysis pubis, and separating 
with the knife the bones of the pelvis. 

Modesty is not less peculiar to woman than co- 
quetry. Under the influence of love, the young man 
exhibits his feelings; the modesty of the girl con- 


CHANGES IN THE MENTAL SYSTEM. 57 


ceals hers. This sentiment exists not until the 
maiden knows or guesses the connexions of sex 
which she may form. 

By some, it is contended, that modesty is not a 
natural feeling, but one of social regulation. In 


our own days, it certainly seemed to be unknown 


amongst the women of Otaheite: they came naked 
to the South Sea voyagers when they landed, and 
offered to them the charms which they exposed, 
striving, too, to increase their effect by expressive 
movements and postures. On the contrary, we are 
told that, in ancient times, owing to the frequency of 
suicides at Miletus, the magistrates declared that 
the first female who committed suicide should be 
exposed naked in the public square; the Milesian 
women consequently became reconciled to life; 
and it is thence concluded that modesty is a natural 
sentiment. 


Now, giving equal credence to the ancient story 


and to the modern facts, it seems rational to inquire 
what conditions most remarkably distinguished the 
two races alluded to. Nothing is more striking in 
this respect, than that the Otaheiteans were nude, 
the Milesians clothed; and clothing, as I have 
shown elsewhere, has generated passions and raised 
up artificial offences. 

Under the influence of clothing, it is probable, as 
observed by Roussel, that modesty derives its cause 


m 


Da 


TPCA NEA ne 


A E al E a A a, coer 


58 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


in woman from a certain mistrust in her own merit, 
~ and from the fear of finding herself below those 
very desires which she is capable of exciting, and 
of which she is the object. This sentiment is more 
difficult to be overcome in women when they have 
any imperfection to conceal. 

It is natural, at a period when sensibility is ex- 
cessive, and emotions are continually occasioned by 
the feeling of a new want which must be concealed, 
or by the fear of exhibiting knowledge respecting it, 
that this sentiment of modesty should reach a high 
degree ofintensity. Itis equally natural that, from 
that time, it should gradually decline. 

In relation to herself, modesty restrains the 
maiden from yielding precipitately to tender feel- 
ings, and compels her love to assume that form by 
which nature has taught her so universally to ex- 
press it—to present it under the mask of friendship, 
gratitude, and a thousand other guises. 

In relation to the lover, it is remarkable that the 
first affections are presented to him under the ap- 
pearance of estrangement. The maiden flies that she 
may be pursued by him, and his love is kept alive 
by the obstacles that modesty interposes. It has 
been observed by all physiologists, that this dispo- — 
sition is not only necessary, but indispensable, for 
the continuation of the human race; that, as the 
male is capable of reproducing only at certain 


CHANGES IN THE MENTAL SYSTEM. . 59 


times, but the female always, it is requisite that the 
former should solicit, and the latter have the ap- 
pearance of denying, the more to stimulate love ; 
‘that desires thus restrained are rendered only more 
capable of producing their effect ; that delay con- 
tributes to confer the suitable preparation and ma- 
turity upon the material which nature employs in 
the production of a new being; and, that it en- 
sures that crisis on which the whole of this im- 
portant event depends. 

Thus even modesty is a means of seduction—a 
deceit with which nature inspires all females, for 
the purpose of more surely attaining the object of 
reproduction. But those who declaim against this 
dissimulation of woman, know nothing of nature. 
Even amongst animals, especially amongst the poly- 
gamous species, the female appears to submit un- 
willingly to the male, for the purpose of animating 
desire. Thus, every separation, every obstacle 

retarding pleasure, renders desire only more ur- 

gent; and nature appears to have accomplished 
this in the only way possible among beings endowed 
with sensibility and locomotion. 

Nature, then, leads man to the performance of 
the reproductive function by the attraction of plea- 
sure. In this case, he derives innumerable pleasures 
from impressions on the senses, from the beauty of 
forms, from the tone of the voice, from the perfume 


60 CONDITIONS TERMINATING IN LOVE. 


of the breath, and especially from the impressions 
of touch. He possesses, moreover, an immense 
power of imagining and exaggerating pleasures. 
So that this sometimes deceives him in dreams, and 
excites in his imagination a deception that almost 
equals reality. 

It is especially the delicacy of touch with which 
man is endowed in ahigher degree than any other 
animal, that renders him pre-eminently amorous, 


Addition to Castration in preceding Section III. 


As an exception to the want of talent in eunuchs, should 
have been mentioned Aga Mohammed Khan, who may 
be called the modern Narses. He preceded the late 
Futteh Ali on the throne of Persia, was remarkable for 
the cruelty, treachery and guile, which usually charac- 
terise his anomalous class, but was also signally dis- 
tinguished in the annals of his country, as a hero who 
first fought his way to the throne amidst difficulties ap- 
parently insurmountable, and then, in a short but glorious 
reign, humbled, or at least successfully resisted, the 
power, and prevented the eucroachments, of Russia. His 
vigilance, in his long career (eighteen years) of blood, 
previously to and after his ascension to undisputed sway 
over Persia, is very remarkable. He seems to have had 
all the energy of an unmutilated man. He was capable 
of enduring any fatigue, and almost lived on horseback. 
The chase was his sole amusement.—He murdered his 
own brother after inviting him to his palace on pretence 
of kindness, and committed great cruelties on all who pro- 
voked his jealousy or his vengeance. He was at length 
slain by a domestic. 


PART IL. 


SEXUAL RELATIONS ARISING FROM THESE 
CONDITIONS, AND CONNECTED WITH, OR 
LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


SECTION L 


USEFUL GUIDANCE AND DANGEROUS RESTRAINT. 


Ir has now been seen that, at puberty, life is super- 
abundant; that that superabundance is employed 
in the reproduction of itself; and that, in doing so, 
the passions and the will are vehemently engaged. 
Accordingly, the habits contracted at this age are 
very powerful, and are intimately connected with 
future health or disease. Hence, at this age, the 
importance of 


Useful Guidance. 


Every effort ought, of course, to be made so to 


direct young persons, that they may be least exposed 
to the evils that now beset them. 


62 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE, 


Those who are too robust should be occasionally 
confined to a more meagre diet; and all the excit= 
ing substances which accelerate precocity should 
be carefully shunned, such as chocolate, ragouts, 
meat suppers, and vinous or spirituous drinks. 
For the same reason should be avoided retention of 
urine and constipation, which attract the blood to- 
wards the parts whence it is desirable to with- 
hold it. 

The habit of cleanliness, practised from the 
earliest youth, becomes a valuable corrective at pu- 
berty. 

An important subject of observation is clothing, 
and the necessity of habituating young people to 
cold, particularly with regard to the reproductive 
organs. “Trousers,” it is observed, “either very 
warm, or lined with woollen stuff, are highly im- 
proper, both on account of uncleanliness, and con- 
sequences which it is desirable to prevent. Those 
worn by girls at an early age have been known to 
produce fatal irritation.” 

Young persons should not be permitted to lie on 
down beds; nor, if long sedentary, to sit on soft 
chairs, to which rush, or wooden bottomed ones are 
greatly preferable, Neither should they be allowed 
to remain in bed longer than requisite, or to lie 
down needlessly on couches. 

While the languishings of love spring up in soft 


USEFUL GUIDANCE. 63 


repose, strong exercise extinguishes tender senti- 
ments, and at the same time produces a revulsion 
to the other organs. The history of the goddess of 
hunting is a philosophical allegory, which expresses 
the great truth, that bodily exercise extinguishes 
all violent disposition to the pleasures of love. 
“ Otia si tollas, periere cupidinis arcus,” is a senti- - 
ment that ought never to be forgotten. 

Care should even be taken to prevent young per- 
sons habitually leaning against anything, so as not 
to have all their muscles in action. 

In lads, activity, so necessary to an equal distri- 
bution of the nutritive juices, must be fostered by 
all the means described by Donald Walker, in the 
most accurate and perfect work on the subject, en- 
titled Maniy Exercises, in which are described, 
and illustrated by plates, walking, running, leaping, 
vaulting, balancing, skating, climbing, swimming, 
rowing, sailing, riding, driving, Xe. 

To young women, exercise will be frequently ne- 
cessary to prevent attachment to fanciful objects, as 
well as the tendency to dwell on those subjects which 
itis desirable to avoid. With this view, and emi- 
nently to improve personal beauty, the work of the 
same author, entitled Lapres’ Exercises, illustrated 
by numerous plates, is absolutely indispensable. 
The work is not merely the only thing of the kind 
worthy of being named, but it is highly original, 


64 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


founded altogether on physiological principles, and 
strongly approved by the most distinguished mem- | 
bers of the medical profession. 

The directing of the habits is an important branch 
of education. 

Ignorant mothers know not how frightful those 
habits are which they first teach by tickling. It is 
a modification of this, leading only to degrading 
sensuality, which the effeminate Indians practise 
under the name of shampooing—a kind of pressing 
and kneading of the naked body when they come 
from the bath, which is performed by the delicate 
hands of females instructed in the operation, and 
which leaves those subjected to it in a state of 
voluptuous debility, inconsistent with all manly fa- 
culties. This was practised by the degenerate 
Romans, among whom women, on quitting the 
bath, were shampooed by handsome and vigorous 
slaves, for the almost avowed purpose, that, by 
means of the sympathy between the skin and the 
reproductive organs, sexual influences might be ex- 
cited. And it is the beginning of this art that 
senseless mothers and servants practise when they 
tickle children. 

It is the duty of such persons, on the contrary, 
even to prevent children from rubbing one thigh 
against the other, from sitting with their knees 
crossed, a circumstance particularly injurious to 


USEFUL GUIDANCE. 65 


girls, and from playing at such games as riding 
upon sticks, see-sawing, striding across the edge of 
a chair, or over the knees. 

The back, also, and spinal marrow should never 
be directly exposed to the fire, as that has a power- 
ful influence on the reproductive system. The 
best means of warmth is exercise; and even addi- 
tional clothing, which may be thrown aside when no 
longer requisite, is preferable to fires. 

As to flowers, their odour causes a shock to the 
sense of smell, which infuses throughout the body 
a voluptuous feeling. 

In regard to particular pursuits, the a should 
choose those best adapted to the young person’s 
taste. Sedentary professions requiring more skill 
than strength, should be left to women, who would 
perfectly succeed in them, while a vast number of 
vigorous men must then be employed in labours 
more worthy of them. 

Cold ablutions diminish the sensibility which 
must otherwise do mischief; and swimming and 
exercise in cold water are remarkably useful. 

If a young person gives unequivocal signs of ex- 
cessive sensibility, all books depicting exaggerated 
sentiments must be withheld. The reading of 
fashionable novels is sure to falsify the judgment of 
the young by the most absurd exaggerations, to 
render their duties distasteful, and even to predis- 
pose to disease. 


i sad á Staal OE E et ii a g á š ià 
= See ees e iaso iri me ER re ta a at pne aeaaaee ncaa coat A REUS 


Eee EE VORN 


66 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


“The classics, and even the Bible,” observes 
Friedlander, “ can be given them only in extracts, if 
we are desirous that they should meet with nothing 
that we deem obscene.” If, very unfortunately, such 
a thing should occur, it must pass unnoticed. Mon- 
taigne, speaking of a young girl, says, “She was 
reading a French book in my presence, and the 
word fouteau, which is the name of a tree, oc- 
curred. The lady who acted as governess stopped 
her short rather sharply, and made her pass over 
this supposed naughty word. I did not interfere, 
because I would not derange their rules, for I do 
not interfere with this mode of government: the 
female police is very mysterious, but it must be 
left to them. But, if I mistake not, the conversa- 
tion of twenty footmen would not, in six months, 
have impressed upon the fancy the meaning, appli- 
cation, and all the consequences of the sound of 
these naughty syllables, as strongly as this good 
lady did by her reprimand and interdiction.” 

Even the study of the fine arts may render the 
imagination too active. Of these, drawing is the 
least objectionable; and music, being the language 
of passion, is the most dangerous, especially music 
of the more impassioned and voluptuous nature. 

A better means of discouraging the passions, is 
the cultivation of the intellectual faculties. Great 
advantage would result, to a young girl at puberty, 


USEFUL GUIDANCE. 67 


from the study of history, geography, and the 
various branches of natural history, pursuits which 
at once dissipate the passions, and are useful to 
rural economy, and many of the arts of industry. 

For the sake, indeed, of the powerful influence 
which maternal education has on progeny, all the 
faculties with which reasoning, calculation, the 
mechanical and various positive sciences are as- 
sociated, should be in some degree employed ; and, 
on such subjects, habitual exercise of the memory 
would usefully engage much valuable time and 
prevent all injurious use of it. . 

In fine, every occupation of the mind likely to 
produce or foster emotions ought to be proscribed. 
—There is danger, as an able writer observes, 
even in austere religion, for daily experience shows 
but too well, that, in the exclusive worship and 
love of a superior being, the young girl looks for 
nothing, and finds nothing, but food for tender 
emotions—with her love of God, is still love. 

On the important subject of example, it need 
scarcely be said, that young persons are sure to 
observe and interpret any loose joke, or indecent 
language that coarse-minded people utter before 
them. 

Not less carefully ought the example of improper 
conduct to be guarded against. Several young 
persons should never be suffered to sleep together 


68 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


in one bed, nor even in the close vicinity of married 
persons or domestics. . 

For similar reasons, education in boarding- 
schools is highly dangerous, especially at this 
period. Intimacies spring up between pupils 
nearly of the same age; they repose confidence in 
each other as to their most secret, thoughts; and 
they endeavour to verify the conjectures they have 
formed respecting sexual affairs. Meanwhile, 
some other friend in the confidence of this tugend- 
bund, who had returned home and seen the world, 
visits the unfortunates still remaining at school, 
when a speedy disclosure takes place of all her 
discoveries made as to the subjects they have so 
often discussed; and to show that her generosity 
is commensurate with her new importance, she 
occasionally supplies those works whose amorous 
pages have been kindly made known to them by 
the most positive interdiction of the teachers. 
Hence, the barriers raised up by modesty are sur- 
mounted, and depraved habits are contracted. 

But, though a boarding-school is a hot-bed of 
vice to all who have reached puberty, that is far. 
from being the time for introduction to the world 
and to the other sex; and retirement among elder 
female relatives is then the wisest mode of life. 
Theatres should be carefully avoided, particularly 
representations in which the softer passions are 


USEFUL GUIDANCE. 69 


excited, or seductive music is the principal portion: 
comedy, as a mere picture of manners and cha- 
racters, is less objectionable. 

When, in spite of the best management, a young 
girl exhibits change or irregularity of character, 
becomes subject to sighs and tears, of which no 
cause is apparent, and betakes herself to solitude, 
then, muscular exercise sufficient to produce slight 
fatigue, agreeable society, and powerful diversions, 
are means that must be adopted. 

It is equally foolish and dangerous, in parents 
and others charged with the education of girls, to 
try to conceal from them all knowledge as to the 
results of the position in which they are placed by 
the circumstance of nubility; for girls, in spite of 
watchful vigilance and every obstacle, are soon 
enabled, by natural instinct and by unremitting 
observation, to instruct themselves in all that per- 
tains to love, and to substitute, for true and in- 
valuable instruction, those false notions which are 
most likely to be followed by fatal results. 

Love assuredly, such as it is described in the 
mischievous trash called fashionable novels, or 
even as artificial society often presents it, is at 
utter variance with the plan of nature. It is de- 
naturalised and factitiously exalted by the obsta- 
cles which it encounters from prejudices relative 
to birth, rank and fortune, and by the want of 


EF UC Li ile en i a E E OE ei a 


Fe ee eee 


70 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


employment and of objects of real interest among 
the easy classes. Without such obstacles, love 
might produce happiness, instead of delirium, 
might be the embellisher, not the occupier, the 
consoler, not the arbiter of life. 

To the youth, the argument may well be em- 
ployed, that it is his interest to restrain his desires, 
even though he may be capable of reproduction ; 
that he must learn to earn the means of living be- 
fore he increase the number of those requiring it ; 
and that moreover his sole object in the world is 
not to find food and procreate his species, without 
leaving any trace of honourable advancement be- 
hind him. Finally, other sentiments may be 
awakened; ambition, dignity, and the universal 
respect of his fellow men. 

So, also, it is the duty of her guide, when the 
maiden has recovered from the tumult of puberty, 
to explain to her the general nature of the sexual 
relations to which she is destined, to put her upon 
her guard against the disguises which love assumes 
and the stratagems it employs, to place it, on the 
contrary, before her in the character it must as- 
sume in marriage, to make her aware of the modi- 
fications that possession produces in the ardour of 
mankind, and the certainty of its being eventually 
calm and moderate, and to teach her to control 
her affections till they are in accordance with those 


DANGEROUS RESTRAINT. 71 


proprieties upon which the conduct of life is made 
to depend. 

Unluckily, experience too often presents obsta- 
cles to unions passionately desired. In such a 
case, if the maiden cannot be united to the object 
of her attachment, the nervous system must be 
weakened, and the muscular system strengthened, 
by a more active mode of life, by long walks, and 
as much bodily exercise as possible, beginning 
always by gentle tasks, and gradually imposing 
upon herself others that in a greater degree exer- 
cise the organs. 

There are, however, youths and maidens whose 
temperaments are, on the contrary, lively, fickle, 
and incapable of attachment, and with whom, con- 
sequently, means of a directly opposite tendency 
must be employed—all those, in short, which were 
deprecated in the former case. 


Dangerous Restraint. 


To prevent the increase of population, mecha- 
nical means, such as infibulation, have been em- 
ployed. 

Infibulation consisted in passing a ring through 
the prepuce, which was drawn down over the glans. 
The comedians and tragedians of Greece employed 
this method to preserve their voice; and Winkel- 
man, in the “ Monumenti Inediti,” has given us a 


72 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


drawing of a bronze antique representing that con- 
dition. Similar was the fibula worn at Rome by 
the singers, to preserve their voices. The precau- 
tion, however, was laughed at; and Martial speaks 
of singers who sometimes broke their rings, and 
had to be again taken to the smith. When, in- 
deed, we recollect how very relaxed and elastic the 
prepuce is, and how insensible to “pain, it is evi- 
dent that little effect could be produced by such 
' means. 

Infibulation seems to have been in use in many 
parts of Asia and Africa. Women also were sub- 
jected to it, and, in that case, the operation was 
performed by sewing together parts that nature 


has separated, and leaving only sufficient space for 


natural evacuations. Such also is the practice at 
present. Amongst some people, however, a ring 
is deemed sufficient; that for girls being immove- 
able, whilst that for women is not so. 

Browne found infibulation practised in Darfour, 
the operation being performed at the age of eleven 
or twelve years. Burkhardt also says, that the 
daughters of the Arabs, Ababde and Dajafeere, 
who inhabit the western banks of the Nile, from 
Thebes as high as the cataracts, and generally 
those of all the people to the south of Kenne and 
Esne, as far as Sennaar, undergo excision of the 
clitoris between three and six years of age; that 


DANGEROUS RESTRAINT. 193 


the healing of the wound is contrived to close the 
parts except at one place, for the natural evacua- 
tions; and that the adhesions are not broken 
until the day before marriage, and in the presence 


of the intended bridegroom. Some, however, have 
these parts sewn up, and, like eunuchs, become 
more valuable on account of their unfitness for 
sexual purposes. 

Among the civilized nations of modern times, 
the same object is kept in view, though means so 
rude are not adopted. - Laws and injunctions, more 
or less severe, answer the same purpose. While 
laws, to prevent too early unions, impose on the 
maiden the duty of chastity before legal marriage, 
mothers frame the most austere injunctions, which, 
for a while, dominate over youthful timidity. 
She dare not advance a step, utter a word, or 
cast a look, but at the hazard of severe reproof or 
of malignant comment. Struggling to guard against 
herself, she must learn to stifle nature ; and, at the 
age of gaiety and happiness, must pass life “in 
a state of exhibition, in vestments constricting 
the chest, compressing respiration, impeding the 
circulation and the movement of the limbs,” and 
producing the frightful diseases already described. 

While the condition of a young woman is thus a 
state of violence against nature, and our manners 
demand so vigilant a surveillance, it is not very 

E 


Saw 


Sar ae penni : we n i 
Sata: SA rs ra eee ee pile aise Sti esir aiamaa a 


Ap Baie Sil NA i a as 


F aa daneri ean a 


pr Minsk Re oe 


Te Ce 


BABE TE th, I tas 


74. RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


wisely complained that girls are dissembling, nor 
very wonderful that they escape from this struggle 
between the developement of the organs of reproduc- 
tion and that inactivity of them which society de- 
mands. The most fatal consequences, indeed, 
accrue from this, both to the physical and moral 
state of woman: escape is frequent; ruin inevitable. 

Grimm, therefore, is not far wrong when he says, 
“The morals of women are founded altogether on 
arbitrary principles; their honour is not true ho- 
nour; their decency is a false decency; and their 
merit, all the becomingness of their state, consists 
im dissembling and disguising the natural senti- 
ments, which a chimerical duty requires them to 
conquer, and which with all their efforts they cannot 
annihilate.”* 

The most ungenerous portion of all this is, that, 
when the worst consequences ensue from these re- 
gulations, their victims alone are blamed; and that 
even philosophers have endeavoured to show, that, 
in such cases, woman alone is criminal, because, as 


* La morale des femmes est toute fondée sur des principes 
arbitraires ; leur honneur n’est pas le vrai honneur 3 leur 
décence est une fausse décence; et tout leur mérite, 
tout la bienséance de leur état, consistent dans la dissi- 
mulation et le travestissement des sentimens naturels 
quwun devoir chimerique leur prescrit. de vaincre, et 
qu’avec tous leur efforts elles ne sauraient aneantir. 


DANGEROUS RESTRAINT. 75 


they assert, woman has no motive to err. This un- 
just conclusion renders the discussion of this deli- 
cate subject indispensable. 

“As people dispute about everything,” says 
Rousel (blind to the bearing and importance. of 
the question), “it has been inquired if the pleasure 
which woman experiences in reproduction is greater 


than that experienced by man—an idle question, 
worthy of the school, and as useless ag it is impos- 
sible of solution. It is essential, without doubt, 
and even the duty of a sensible and intelligent be- 
ing, not to consent to be happy alone, and without 
being assured that others are SO; but it is a vain 
subtlety to seek to determine the precise measure 
of happiness which occurs to each.” | 
Now, the question is neither “vain” nor “im- 
possible of solution.” I have already shown that 
woman has a vital system larger than that of man. 
I may now add that she has a larger reproductive 
system. It follows, that their functions are cor- 
responding. It is with these vital and reproduc- 
tive organs and functions, that the whole life of 
woman is associated. To know, indeed, the pre- 
cise degree of their importance to her, and the 
necessity of their frequent or enduring employment, 
it is only necessary to observe their relatively greater 
developement. On this ground alone, then, all 
E 2 


76 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


that is connected with love is far more essential to 
woman than to man. 

This affords the anatomical and physiological 
foundation of the mere, though true, assertions of 
the writer of the thesis,—* Estne viro foemina sa- 
lacior ?’ who says, “Oblitam sui mulierem fa- 
cilius reperias quam salacitatis. Exlex est et 
ahoyoc in ed libido quæ statim expleri cupit, nec 
patitur moras. Astyanassze sunt, quarum lascivia 
novos concubitfis modos quotidie comminiscitur. 


Non desunt et Messalinze, quee resupine: jacentes, 


absorptis multorum ictibus, lassatee quidem viris, 
sed non satiatee recedunt. Nec infrequentes Dio- 
nysie, quarum in octav4 lascivia surgere messe 
cœperat, et dulces fingere nequitias. Inclamantes 
etiam sæpe audiuntur Quartillæ, ‘Junonem meam 
iratam habeam, si unquam me meminerim vir- 
ginem? Quid plura?”—So also of Solomon’s asser- 
tion, that the woman is ever ready to receive, and 
never cry hold, enough. 

But, to advance in this argument—I have also 
shown that, in reproduction and progeny, the or- 
gans of sense and the anterior part of the brain 
go always along with the vital system; and ana- 

tomy shows that these parts‘are relatively larger 
in woman than in man. It follows that, in her, 
sensibility and its perceptions are greater; and 
consequently that she must derive, from the em- 


DANGEROUS RESTRAINT. td 


ployment of these vital and reproductive organs, 
far higher pleasure than man. 

This anatomical and physiological fact is simi- 
larly the sole foundation of such empirical obser- 
vations as the following:—* When we consider 
that their nervous system is more sensible and 
active than man’s, that their skin is more soft and 
delicate, that their sensations are more intimate 
and internal, that their breasts are exquisitely 
sensible, and that they yield more easily to the 
seduction of fond caresses, we may conclude with De 
Lignac, that their enjoyments are more extended 
and more connected with the whole of their econo- 
my than man’s. Impregnation seems to take 


place in them by the concurrence of every portion 
of the body agitated by sensations of pleasure. 
They throw more of abandonment into it than 
man, since for the pleasures of love they sacrifice 
the timidity natural to their sex, and the idea, 
which is always painful, of the pangs of child- 


bearing, and the anxieties of maternity.” So also 
of what the author of the thesis says, ‘“ Mulieribus 
datum genialibus in ludis amatoriâ voluptate dis- 
solvi; negatum viris. Horum lætitiæ sequax est 
dolor, hæresque tristitia; illarum- contra gaudiis 
succedunt nova.. Virorum statim tristis languescit 
amor; mulierum remissionis vix patiens flamma, 
veneris aliud unde continuð nutriatur pabulum 


a 


PES EE AOE LPO DET LEED A a pre IEPs ee SA 


78 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


arcessit vorax.—The fable says that the prophet 
Tiresias lost his sight for having, in the pre- 
sence of Juno, decided this question in favour of 
woman. 

- But I have also shown that the cerebel, or organ 
of the will, is small in woman; and therefore, 
though the pleasures of love are more essential to 
her organization, more easily yielded to on every 
opportunity, and more exquisitely enjoyed, yet 
they are legs determined, and more easily suffer 
suspense or renunciation. Neglect of anatomy 
and physiology has made all writers mistake on 
this subject, as is done in a following statement, 
not understood by the writer, and explicable only 
by the anatomical and physiological fact expressed 
in the first sentence of: this paragraph. “ Women 
constantly retard enjoyment, or prevent it alto- 
gether, solely by the influence of the will, acted 
upon by the most trifling motive, They even do 
more: they sometimes renounce it without a 
murmur.” 

‘The statement of these truths, and exposition of 
the common errors on the subject, render it un- 
necessary to reply further to the false representa- 
tions that have been made as to the absence of 
necessity and the diminished degree of these 


pleasures in woman. 


In the following passage, “It has always ap- 


DANGEROUS RESTRAINT. 79 


peared to me unreasonable to suppose that nature 
_has bestowed the most powerful desires upon that 
sex which is prevented by its own weakness from 


seeking to satisfy them according to inclination; 
that the most imperious inclination should be 
joined to the necessity of waiting and to the pre- 
tence of refusal; that the individual in whom a 
passive state predominates almost constantly should 
be of a warmer constitution than the male who 
carries in himself a cause of permanent activity,” — 
in this passage, the error, indicated by the words 
in italics, is in not seeing that, though in con- 
formity with the larger vital and reproductive sys- 
tem of woman, is the necessity for its frequent or 
enduring employment, and in conformity with her 
larger organs of sense and anterior part of the 
brain (parts, as will be seen, always accompanying 
the vital and reproductive system), is the possession 
of greater sensibility and capacity for pleasure,— 
yet her smaller cerebel or organ of will renders her 
less determined in pleasure, and enables her to 
yield to suspense or renunciation,—in fact, that 
there is greater necessity for and greater capacity 
of pleasure, but greater power of yielding to mo- 
mentary circumstances affecting these,—a fact 
which is in perfect analogy with the whole of the 
female character. But, to yield is one thing; to 
forego is another. ‘The necessity and the capacity 


80 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


of pleasure, are as clearly established as is the 
power of yielding to circumstances, 

All, however, that has been said on this sub- 
ject, is interesting chiefly because it exposes the 
injustice and wickedness of the following conclu- 
sion, founded solely on the statements which have 
just been refuted,—« That man is not so unjust as 
he is accounted, in requiring from woman that 
strict fidelity which, in particular circumstances 
(such as absence), he is unable to exercise himself.” 

I have just said, with respect to woman, that, 
“to yield is one thing; to forego is another: 
the necessity and the capacity of pleasure, are as 
clearly established as is the power of yielding to 
circumstances.” It is gratifying that here pa- 
thology comes in aid of physiology. Cabanis says, 
“ In general, women, in this respect, support ex- 
cesses more easily, and privations more difficultly : 
at least, these privations, when they are not abso- 
lutely voluntary, have ordinarily for women, es- 
pecially in a state of solitude and indolence, incon- 
veniences which they have but rarely for men.” 


' SECTION IH. 


UNNATURAL INDULGENCE AND ABSOLUTE CON- 
TINENCE. 


As soon as puberty is accomplished, instinct 


leads the youth to satisfy desire, and if no object of 


the other sex is cast in the way, and he is un- 


checked by timidity or other considerations, he — 


falls into 


Unnatural Indulgence. 


Of this, it is necessary to trace rapidly the ori: gin 
and effects as described by the best observers, for 
those whose duty it is to protect youth from its 
fatal consequences. 

“Surprising artfulness and obstinacy are em- 
ployed by young people in maintaining secrecy 
respecting crimes of this description. But a youth 
may be suspected, when, at the period of puberty, 


he seeks to remain in solitary places generally 


alone, more rarely with a particular comrade, 
“This vice soon renders him careless of his 
parents and the persons who have the care of him, 
as well as indifferent to the sports of his equals ; 
he falls into a distaste for everything except the 
opportunity of indulgence; all his thoughts are 


a 


EO 


anata 


A ice BOATS pila 2 tine ee meee 


FN TOE patie ax Pata anaes “30 
* 


82 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


directed to the parts at this period subject to irri- 
tation; sensibility, imagination and passion are 
inflamed; and the secretion of the reproductive 
liquid augmenting, withdraws a very precious por- 
tion from the blood. 

“The muscles of the youth consequently be- 
come soft; he is idle; his body becomes bent; his 
gait is sluggish; and he is scarcely able to sup- 
port himself—The digestion becomes enfeebled ; 
the breath, fetid ; the intestines, inactive; the ex- 
crements, hardened in the rectum and producing 
additional irritation of the seminal conduits in its 
vicinity. The circulation, being no longer free, 
the youth sighs often; the complexion is livid; 
and the skin, on the forehead especially, is studded 
with pimples.—The corners of the mouth are. 
lengthened ; the nose becomes sharp; the sunken 
eyes, deprived of brilliance and enclosed in blue 
circles, are cast down; no look remains of gaiety ; 
the very aspect is criminal. General sensibility 
becomes excessive, producing tears without cause . 
perception is weakened, and memory almost de. 
stroyed; distraction or absence of mind renders 
the judgment unfit for any operation; the i imagi- 
nation gives birth only to fantasies and fears with- 
out grounds; the slightest allusion to the domi- 
nating passion produces motion of the muscles of 
the face, the flush of shame, or a state of despair; 


UNNATURAL INDULGENCE. 83 


the desires become capricious, and envy rankles in 


the mind, or there ensues a total disgust. The 
‘wretched being finishes by shunning the face 
of men, and dreading the observation of women; 
his character is entirely corrupted, or his mind is 
totally stupified. Involuntary loss of the repro- 
ductive liquid at last takes place during the daily 
motions; and there ensues a total exhaustion, 
bringing on heaviness of the head, singing in the 
ears, and frequent faintings, or a sensation as if 
ants were running from the head down the back, 
together with pains, convulsive tremblings, and 
partial paralysis.” 

Long previous to these severe effects, the losses 
which have been described arrest the increase of 
stature, and stop the growth of all the organs, and © 
the developement of all the functions. It is an 
earlier puberty which renders the southern people 
shorter than the northern. And a sense of this 
seems to have prevailed from the remotest times. 
Amongst the Germans, according to Julius Cæsar, 
the act of reproduction was not permitted to ado- 
— lescents before twenty without incurring infamy ; 
and to this he attributes the stature and strength 
of that simple people. | 

An incapability of ever giving life to strong and 
robust children, is another effect of these losses, 
which precedes the total ruin of the individual. 


ARN a A EEEO 


A a a a a 
a pe a ae ae Cena re n a 


84 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


Intelligent instructors will know both how to 
divine the bad habits of their pupils, and how to 
avoid all excitement of them. 

Much attention has recently been paid to the 
nature of punishments. There are few of them 
that should not be avoided; but to punish a child 
by shutting him up alone in a room, is a sad error, 
if there be any reason to suspect him of bad 
habits. 

Medicinal remedies, astringents, sudorifics, &c., 
are weakening and injurious in other respects ; and 
mechanical means directly applied to the organs, 
are likely to draw the attention, and determine 
the blood, to the part whence it should be diverted. 

Moral means consist of good habits previous to 
puberty, the influence of fear and respect, and that 
of the nobler feelings predominating over the baser 
passions. , 

This assuredly will be more easily accomplished 
in well-directed private education, than in public 
schools, 

When conviction of the existence of bad habits 
is acquired, it becomes necessary to speak to the 
subject of them mildly and rationally respecting 
_ his injurious practice.—It is feared that the works 
on the subject, if they have cured some, have 
made others acquainted with vice of this kind. 
But there can be no danger in placing such works 


UNNATURAL INDULGENCE. 85 


in the hands of children whose conduct has given 
rise to suspicion. 

In such cases, exciting and superabundant food 
is highly injurious. The diet should be chiefly 
or altogether vegetable; and no vinous or spiri- 
tuous drinks should be permitted. The latter are 
indeed, of themselves, quite sufficient to produce, 
at any time, the worst habits; and the parent who 
has suffered their use, has no right to complain 
either of precocious puberty, or of unnatural in- 
dulgences. 

As it is well known, that the almost unremitting 
employment of his muscles diverts the labourer 
from this vice, whilst shepherds, who watch their 
flocks in sequestered places, have been generally 
accused of it, itis evident that if, in youths, the 
superabundance of nervous power were carried off 
by exercise, they would be rendered more tranquil 
and more attentive to instruction, and would con- 
sequently make greater progress in knowledge. 

When boys suffer nocturnal affections of this 
kind, involuntarily produced, similar care and 
treatment are required. All that heats the imagi- 
nation and is likely to recur in dreams must then 
be avoided, as should every physical circumstance 
tending to assist it—suppers, down beds, hot bed- 
clothing, &c. 


Such affections when awake, are the results of 


86 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE, 


confirmed disease, requiring the union of medical 
treatment with physical and moral education. 

The vice which has now been described in boys, 
appears to be still more common among girls, and 
produces similar symptoms. 

In general, the victims of this depravity are an- 
nounced by their aspect. “The roses fade from 
the cheeks; the face assumes an appearance of 
faintness and weakness; the skin becomes rough; 
the eyes lose their brightness, and a livid circle 
surrounds them; the lips become colourless; and 
all the features sink down, and become disordered.” 

If the depravity be not arrested, general dis- 
ease and local affections of the organs of repro- 
duction ensue—acrid leucorrheea, ulcerations of the 
vulvo-uterine canal, falling and various diseases of 
the matrix, abortions, and sometimes nymphoma- 
nia and furor uterinus, terminate life amidst deli- 
rium and convulsions. 

Sapphic tastes («Aeropial, ety) form another aber- 
ration of love, of which Sappho and the lovers of 
their own sex were accused by Seneca, St. Augus- 
tine, &e. “ Her ode, breathing the languor, aban- 
donment, delirium, ecstasy, and convulsions of love, 
was addressed, not to a lover, but to one of her 
female companions; and, amongst the fragments 
of her poetry, are some voluptuous verses ad- 
dressed to two Grecian girls, her pupils and lovers.” 


ABSOLUTE CONTINENCE. 1 ae 


As there were many women at Lesbos who adopted 
the habits of Sappho, the term Lesbian habits 
was used to express these.-—The women of Lesbos 
also fell into other errors, which gained them the 
epithet of Fellatrix. 

These turpitudes, as if they were natural but un- 
fortunate compensations to women subject to poly- 
gamy, are said to be still well known to the Turkish 
and Syrian women at their baths. And it is not 
improbable, that this occasioned, in southern coun- 
tries, the excision of the clitoris. 

It is evident that the victims of this depravity 
demand the most active vigilance of mothers, if 
they desire to preserve either the morals or the 
health of their daughters. It is evident, also, that 
the same practices are scarcely less injurious at a 


more advanced age. 


Absolute Continence. 


This consists in abstaining, owing generally to 


religious notions, from the indulgences of love, 
although the individual feels the strongest desire 
for them; and, in general, it is attended with the 


most deplorable results. 

In such cases, the effects vary, but they generally 
are continual priapism, frequent itching, inordinate 
desires, taciturnity, moroseness, or ferocity, deter- 
mination of blood to the head, lassitude and dis- 


SE Te eae ROE er re 
+ 


SS ein eel CL A E 


SOREL AN ll per Sd ee penen sn a " 


on 


as TE ee a as war 


Sa 3 


ee 


tra erste ene ee nee je 


88 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


gust at everything abstracting the mind from the 
prevailing passion, incapability of averting atten- 
ion from voluptuous images, and partial madness, 
succeeded by general insanity and terminated by 
death. 

An ecclesiastic, mentioned by Buffon, forwarded 
him a memoir -describing the torments of his celi- 
bacy, and the various sensations and ideas expe- 
rienced by him during an erotic delirium of six 
months’ duration. 

“ This ecclesiastic, Monsieur M —, presented 
all the attributes of a sanguine temperament, the 
premature developement of which commenced at 
the age of eleven. Paternal despotism, the direc- 


tion of his studies and affections, superstitious 
habits, Pythagorean regimen, fastings and macera- 
tions, were all employed to change, to stifle, or 
rather to mutilate nature. 

“ At the age of thirty-two, being then bound by 
a vow of eternal celibacy, he began to feel the 
action of the reproductive organs in a more lively 


manner, and his health was injured. 

“ At this period, he says, in his own account, 
‘my forced continence produced through all my 
senses a sensibility, or rather an irritation, I had 
never before felt.—I fixed my looks on two females, 
who made so strong an impression on my eyes, 
and through them on my imagination, that they 


' 


ABSOLUTE CONTINENCE. 89 


appeared to me to be illuminated, and glittering 
with a fire like electric sparks : I retired speedily, 
thinking it was an illusion of the devil. 


“ < Some days afterwards, I suddenly felt a con- 
traction and a violent tension in all my limbs, ac- 
companied by a frightful convulsive movement, simi- 
lar to that which follows an attack of epilepsy. This 
state was succeeded by delirium.—My imagination 
was next assailed with a host of obscene images, 
suggested by the desires of nature.—'These chi- 
meras were soon followed by warlike ardours, in 
which I seized the four bed-posts, made them into 
a bundle, and hurled them against my bedroom- 
door, with such force as to drive it off the hinges. * 

“<Tn the course of my delirium, I drew plans 
and compartments on the floor of my room; and so 
exact was my eye, and so steady my hand, that, 
without any instrument, I traced them with perfect 
accuracy. 

“<I was again seized with martial fury, and 
imagined myself successively Achilles, Cæsar, and 
Henry the Fourth.—A short time afterwards, I 
declared I would marry, and I thought I saw before 
me women of every nation and of every colour. 


* This alternate direction of nervous influence to the 
brain itself and to the muscles, is very remarkable 3 and 
it forms an excellent illustration of the value of exercise 
in all cases of this kind. 


90 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


“ <I at first selected a certain number, corres- 
ponding with the number of the different nations I 
had conquered ; and it appeared to me, that I should 
marry each of these women according to the rites 
and customs of her nation. There was one whom 
I regarded as queen over the rest. This was a 
young lady I had seen some days before the com- 
mencement of my disease.—I was, at this moment, 
desperately amorous ; I expressed my desires aloud 
in the most energetic manner; yet I had never, in 
all my life, read any romance or tale of love; I had 
never embraced, never even saluted, a woman; I 
spoke, however, very indecently of my desire to 
every one, without reflecting upon my sacred cha- 
racter; and I was quite surprised that my relations 
found fault with my proposals, and condemned my 
conduct. 

“ < This state of amorous crisis was followed by 
a tolerably tranquil sleep, during which I expe- 
rienced nothing but pleasure.— Returning reason 
brought all my woes. - I reflected upon their cause; 
I recognized it; and, without daring to combat it, 
I exclaimed with Job, ¢ Cur data lux misero?” 

Buffon also cites an instance of an ecclesiastic 
whom he knew, who, in despair for violating the 
duties of his condition so frequently, performed the 
operation of Origen on himself. 

- Long before, St. Augustin had said, “ Dura sunt 


ABSOLUTE CONTINENCE. 91 


preelia castitatis; ubi quotidiana pugna, ibi rara 
victoria ;” and Montaigne observes, that “those of 
whom St. Augustin speaks have expressed a won- 
derful notion of temptation and nudity, in making 


it a question ‘whether women at the general judg- 


ment will be raised in their own sex, or rather in 


ours, so that they may not tempt us again in that. 


holy state.’ ” 

St. Jerome describes a still more vivid picture 
from his own experience. QO! how often have I, 
when settled in the desert—in that vast solitude, 
which, burned up by solar heat, affords to monks a 
horrid habitation—how often bave I imagined 
myself to be, for a moment, in the midst of Roman 
delights! But I sat alone, because I was filled 
with bitterness. My deformed members abhorred 
the sack investing them; and my squalid skin en- 
dured the thirst of Ethiopic flesh. Daily tears ; 
daily groans; and if at any time urgent sleep op- 
pressed me in spite of repugnance, I slid my 
scarcely adhering bones down upon the naked 
ground. Of food and drink I will not speak .. . 
I therefore—lI, who, for fear of hell, had condemned 
myself to such imprisonment, the companion only of 
scorpions and wild beasts, did often, in imagina- 
tion, find myself amidst the choirs of maidens ! 
Pallid was I with fastings, and, in a frigid body, 
my mind burned with desires; the flesh being 


Se Oe REET OR te aC je “ae 
2 


AAEE ian n tees 


92 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


dead before the man, the fires of lust boiled up 
alone.” * 

And this is the confession of a father of the 
christian church !—-Man! be just to feebler sex 
and feebler powers ! 

In other cases, if free from monomania, man falls 


a victim to acute diseases, apoplexies in particular. 


The state of woman, under similar circumstances, 
is not less severe. If love acquire a determined 
character in one whose nervous system is at all ex- 
citable, the state of virginity, at variance as after 
puberty it is with the impulses and intentions of 
nature, becomes one of great suffering. 

A strong feeling of duty, and the emotion of fear, 
may lead her for a time to withstand the powerful 


AO quoties ego ipse, in eremo constitutus, et in illa 
vasta solitudine, quæ exusta solis ardoribus, horridum 
monachis præbet habitaculum, putabam me Romanisin- 
teresse deliciis. Sedebam solus, quia amaritudine reple- 
tus eram. Horrebant sacco membra deformia, et squal- 
lida cutis situm Æthiopicæ carnis obdurat.. Quotidie 
lachrymæ, quotidie gemitus ; et si quando repugnantem 
somnus imminens oppressisset, nuda humo ossa vix hæ- 
rentia collidebam. De cibis vero et potu taceo... Ille 
igitur ego qui, ob gehenne metum, tali me carcere 
ipse damnaveram, scorpionum tantum socius et ferrarum, 
sepe choris inter eram puellarum. Pallebant ora jejuniis, 
et mens desideriis estuabat in frigido corpore, et ante ho- 
minem suum, jam carne premortua, sola libidinum incen- 
dia bulliebant.” 


ABSOLUTE CONTINENCE. 93 


impulse of nature. But that power is unceasingly 
operating; imagination is constantly filled with 
pictures of the happiness for which she longs; de- 
sire at last bursts through the restraints of reason. 
If she then redouble her efforts, and, by unceasing 
attention and unrelaxing resolve, stifle the voice of 
nature, this struggle speedily immerses her in lan- 
guor and melancholy. 

Such a state must finally become morbid. 

Dr. M. Good quotes, from Professor Frank, of 
Vienna, the case of a lady of his acquaintance, of 
a warm and amorous constitution, who was unfor- 
tunately married to a very debilitated and impo- 
tent man, and who, although she often betrayed 
unawares, by her looks and gestures, the secret 
fire that consumed her, yet, from a strong moral 
principle, resisted all criminal gratification: after a 
long struggle, her health at last gave way, and a 
slow fever released her from her sufferings. 

Chlorosis is frequently the first malady that 
makes its appearance. The catamenia, too, are 
frequently suppressed, occur at irregular periods, 
or are complicated by painful symptoms—the con- 
sequence of the irritability of the reproductive or- 
gans, produced by privation and inactivity. It is 
asserted, indeed, that, in this respect, excess is less 
injurious than privation, and that the most volup- 
tuous women menstruate most easily. 


94 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


The stomach frequently becomes unable to retain 
any substance, however light. The nervous sus- 
ceptibility often affects the heart; its movements, 
either by fits or permanently, becoming quick, ir- 
regular and strong, and constituting palpitation. 
Frequently also this nervous predominance is felt 
throughout the organization ; and syncopes form the 
prelude to what are called vapours. Sometimes, 
likewise, girls fall into profound melancholy, and 
abandon themselves to despair. 

If marriage be not permitted to terminate this 
state, injury fatal to life may be its consequence. 

In the extravagance of passion, suicide may be 
perpetrated. More frequently occur a general 
perversion of sensibility, and all the degrees of hys- 
terism, especially if the maiden has a strong ten- 
dency to love, nurtured by good living, an easy se- 
dentary life, the reading of fashionable novels, or 
exciting conversations with the other sex, while she 
is still kept under the eyes of a vigilant superin- 
tendent. a 

An attack of hysteria is generally characterized 
by yawning, stretching, a variable state of mind, 
or extravagant caprices, tears and laughter without 
cause, fluttering and palpitation with urgent flatu- 
lence, rumbling in the belly, a flow of limpid urine, 
a feeling as if a ball (the globus hystericus ) were 
rolling about in the abdomen, ascending to the 


ABSOLUTE CONTINENCE. 95 


stomach and fauces, and there causing a sense 
of strangulation, as well as of oppression about 


the chest and difficulty of respiration, fainting, loss 
of sensation, motion and speech, death-like cold- 
ness of the extremities or of the body generally ; 
also muscular rigidity, and convulsive movements, 
the patient twisting the body, striking herself, and 
tearing the breast; and this followed by a degree 
of coma, stupor and apparent sleep; but con- 
sciousness by degrees returning, amidst sobs, sighs 
and tears. 

Hysterical epilepsy may take place, the pa- 
roxysms of which are sometimes preceded by dim- 
ness of sight, vertiginous confusion, pain of the 
head, ringing in the ears, flatulence of the stomach 


and „bowels, palpitation of the heart, and occa- 


sionally of the aura epileptica, or feeling as if cold 
air, commencing in some part of the extremities, 
directed its course up to the head. During the 
_ fit, the patient falls upon the ground, and rolls 
thereon; the muscles of the face are distorted ; the 
tongue is thrust out of the mouth, and often bitten; 
the eyes turn in their orbits; she cries or shrieks, 
emitting a foaming saliva; and she struggles with 
such violence that several persons are required to 


hold her. - The belly is tense and grumbling; there 


are frequent eructations; and the excretions, parti- 
cularly the urinary, are passed involuntarily. After 


ee ee 


Da ag: FNMA Bean 
2 


BAM Gee PENCE RT SEP ACI aS ORT 


art i eR a 


SS 


PE ipa a ga en ra is 


96 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


atime more or less considerable, the patient gra- 
dually recovers, with yawning and sense of lassi- 
tude, scarcely answers, and is ignorant of what has 
oceurred to her. 

These effects, we are told, have been observed 
in Canary birds, which if, when separated from 
their females, they can see them without being able 
to reach them, sing continually, and never cease 
till their distress is terminated by an attack of epi- 
lepsy. 

Other affections, as catalepsies, exstasies, &c., 
frequently depend upon the reproductive organs: 
and in Roman Catholic countries, in former times, 
half insane devotees were found among old maids 
thus affected, and became, in consequence, the fit- 
ting instruments of the artful propagators of ridi- 
culous creeds. 

In some cases, the dominant passion interferes 
with the other operations of intellect, and produces 
insanity. It has been already observed, that no 
one becomes insane before puberty; and that the 
period of the greatest reproductive ardour is that of 
the highest mental excitement, 

Accordingly, many young women become insane 
either from erotic or religious excitement (physio- 
logically regarded they are the same), from the 
love even of the beings of their own imagination ; 
—for it is justly observed, “ Such are the wants of 


ABSOLUTE CONTINENCE. 97 


the heart in women, that they are caught by and 
attach themselves to chimeras, when the reality is 
wanting to their sensibility.” 

The worst disease resulting from this cause is 
nymphomania, or furor uterinus. The women 
whom celibacy renders most liable to it, have been 
observed to be of small stature, and to have some- 
what bold features, the skin dark, the complexion 
ruddy, the mamme quickly developed, the sensibi- 
lity great, and the catamenia considerable. 

The very commencement of puberty is generally 
the time when the disease of which furor uterinus is 


the aggravated form, begins to arise out of the tem- 


perament just described and from various accidental 
causes, as loose reading or conversation, obscene 
paintings or engravings, and bad example arising 
from close intercourse with dissolute persons. 

In persons suffering under this disease, says Dr. 
M. Good, “there is often, at first, some degree of 
melancholy, with frequent sighings; but the eyes 
roll in wanton glances, the cheeks are flushed, the 
bosom heaves, and every gesture exhibits the lurk- 
ing desire, and is enkindled by the distressing 
flame that burns within . . . The disease is 
strikingly marked by the movements of the body, 
and the salacious appearance of the countenance, 


and even the language that proceeds from the lips.” 


They, indeed, use the most lascivious language and 
F 


Baha isi Sanad INN wal e wean aee 
g 


Se ee ee eee 2 


ENS 5 Hg ARENA OLR SEER RIV cut“ y eres vs 


vA 


PEE 


a cig Paces a a wa 


98 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


gestures, even invite men without distinction, and 
abuse them if they repel their advances, 

The diseases also of the matrix and mamme occur 
chiefly amongst unmarried females. Old maids are 
especially liable to these diseases, because their 
organs have not fulfilled their functions, Schirrous 
indurations and cancers often form in these parts, 
especially at the final cessation of the catamenia. 
Hydatids also form in the matrix or ovaries, So as 
to resemble pregnancy. 


~ SECTION III. 


NECESSITY OF INTERMARRIAGE. 


Friedlander observes, “ It is a very difficult, and 
a very delicate question to decide, whether there are 
cases in which it is absolutely necessary to fa- 
vour the union of the sexes at a very early age, 
for the purpose of arresting the evil effects of 
unnatural indulgences. I think, however, that our 
country and climate afford very few instances of 
passions so violent and precocious ag to require 
premature marriages. Suppose an imagination 
constantly agitated by images of love, and in- 
flamed by absorption of the reproductive liquid, 


NECESSITY OF INTERMARRIAGE. 99 i 


it may still be diverted from sensual ideas, and the 


effervescence be directed to poetical composi- 


tions,” &e. 

Now, no man is more deeply impressed than this 
writer with the frequency and the fatal effects of 
‘unnatural indulgences; and, that being the case, 
his estimate of early marriage must be alarming 
indeed. Its evils, I believe, are only those imposed 
by an artificial state of society, and the unequal 
distribution of wealth. And as to poetical compo- 


sition as a cure, it would evidently be only adding 
fuel to the fire. 


When all the thoughts of the jiu man begin 
to be occupied by the desire of erotic pleasure, 


every hour that passes adds to burning desire; 


almost every individual of the opposite sex seems 
_ fascinating to him; his heart palpitates when they 
approach; and a flame seems to fly through all his 
members. Even during the night, the physical 
' condition of the external organs necessary to re- 
production annoys him, and his sleep is often 
destroyed. Gratification or disease inevitably fol- 
lows.—Of the young woman, however modified her 
affections, the same is true. 

Marriage ought, then, to succeed the celibacy of 
earlier life——Marriage, says Buffon, “is man’s 
natural state after puberty. ‘This is, therefore, the 
period when the female, pressed by a new want, and 

F 2 


a 


a 


ZA 


Ao aah SS RRR TES 


BEN AWC SOR IITA RET aD 


100 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


excited to employ her faculties, should renounce 
her virginal attribute, and that inexperience in love 
- which was becoming in tranquil youth.” 

Of young men, under these circumstances, 
Kames, in a manly and Philosophie spirit, says 
more in detail, “I have often been tempted to find 
fault with Providence in bringing so early to per- 
fection the carnal appetite, while a man, still in - 
early youth, has acquired no degree of prudence nor 
of selfcommand. It rages, indeed, the most when 
young men should be employed in acquiring know- 
ledge, and in fitting themselves for living comfort- 
ably in the world. I have set this thought in various 
lights; but I now perceive that the censure is without 
foundation. The early ripeness of this appetite 
proves it to be the intention of Providence, that 
people should early settle in matrimony. In that 
State, the appetite is abundantly moderate, and 
gives no obstruction to education. It never be- 
comes unruly, till one, forgetting the matrimonial « 
tie, wanders from object to object. It is pride and 
luxury that dictate late marriages ; industry never 
fails to afford the means of living comfortably, pro- 
vided men confine themselves to the demands of 
nature.” — | 

Taking up the subject at this very point, Dr. 
Johnson says, “ I have been told that late marriages 
are not eminently happy. This is a question too 


NECESSITY OF INTERMARRIAGE. 101 


important to be neglected, and I have often pro- 
posed it to those whose accuracy of remark and 
comprehensiveness of knowledge, made their suf- 
'frages worthy of regard. They have generally de- 
termined, that it is dangerous for a man and woman 
to suspend their fate upon each other, at a time 
when opinions are fixed, and habits are established ; 
when friendships have been contracted on both 
sides, when life has been planned into method, and 
the mind has long enjoyed the contemplation of its 
own prospects. 
It is scarcely possible that two travelling through 
the world under the conduct of chance, should have 
been both directed to the same path, and it will not 
often happen that either will quit the tract which 
custom has made pleasing. When the desultory 
levity of youth has settled into regularity, it is soon 
succeeded by pride ashamed to yield, or obstinacy 
delighting to contend. And even though mutual 
esteem produces mutual desire to please, time it- 
self, as it modifies unchangeably the external mien, 
determines likewise the direction of the passions, 
and gives an inflexible rigidity to the manners. 
Long customs are not easily broken: he that at- 
tempts to change the course of his own life, very 
often labours in-vain, and how shall we do that for 
others which we are seldom able to do for our- 
selves?” 


102 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGE. 


“Those who marry at an advanced age, will pro- 
bably escape the encroachments of their children ; 
but, in diminution of this advantage, they will be 
likely to leave them, ignorant and helpless, to a 
guardian’s mercy: or, if that Should not happen, 
they must at least go out of the world before they 
see those whom they love best either wise or great, 

“ From their children, if they have less to fear, 
they have less also to hope, and they lose, without 
equivalent, the joys of early love, and the conve- 
nience of uniting with manners pliant, and minds 
susceptible of new impressions, which might wear 
away their dissimilitudes by long cohabitation, as 
soft bodies, by continual attrition, conform their 
surfaces to each other.” 

As to young women more especially, it is cer- 

‘tain, that the natural exercise of the organs of re- 
production has the happiest effects on those of an 
erotic temperament, excited by diet, Inactivity and 
everything that can stimulate desire. When hyste- 
rism especially is caused by unsatisfied love, the ad- 
vice of Hippocrates is as applicable as ever.—<« Ego 
autor sum ut virgines hoc malo (chlorosi) laborantes, 
quam celerrime cum viris conjungantur, iisque coha- 
bitent; si enim Conceperint, convalescent.” 

Hoffman records the case of a nun long subject 
to hysterical attacks, in whom it was necessary to 
get rid of the irritability accumulated by continence, 


NECESSITY OF INTERMARRIAGE. 105 


by the impressions of pleasure. Its cure, however, 
is difficult without marriage, and it sometimes 
yields only to the new direction of the uterine 
powers which is given by impregnation. 

Uterine epilepsy also ceases with marriage. 
Lanzoni gives the case of a widow of thirty-one, 
who, after the death of her husband, was subject to 
-attacks of epilepsy twice a month :—“ After she had, 
for some time, followed medical advice with- 
out benefit, I advised her to marry a second 
time. The widow followed my advice, and made 
choice of a young and loving husband; and the 
pleasures of marriage, having impressed a salutary 
movement on her organization, the epileptic attacks 
disappeared and never returned. 

In these epileptic convulsions of young women, 
women neglected, &c., many authors have not he- 
sitated to recommend what is contrary to our no- 
tions of propriety. And to those who object, F. 
Hoffman distinctly says, “I am aware that we 
ought not to do ill to produce good; but this is my 
answer: of two evils equally inevitable, it is our 
- duty to choose the least—others will perhaps add, 
and the least painful.” 

The same means, we are told, has often Guned 
uterine cholics, and nervous diseases. 

It is evident that the cure of nymphomania must 
consist in marriage. 


AT. LA AGE ENOL EAT ay SERIE 


104 RELATIONS LEADING TO INTERMARRIAGRE, 


The fact that such diseases are 
tinence, i 


social institutions, if the immutable laws of fecun- 
dity and of reproduction are perverted 2” — 

When, therefore, a young marriageable maiden 
exhibits symptoms of the approach of any of these 
diseases, she should, if possible, be united to the 
object of her affections. Such symptoms then 
speedily disappear; health and happiness take 
their place ; and there is preserved to her family 
and to society, a being who may be one of their 
most amiable and valuable members. 

There are indeed young girls, observes a medi- 
cal writer, <s sufficiently artful to counterfeit hys- 
teric epilepsy and other affections for which they 
have heard marriage recommended ag the only 
cted into that 


Cause to fear that, in yielding 
to the transports of their passion, they may shortly 
experience in reality the trouble and disorder they 
have counterfeited for the moment? ; 

Independently of morbid affections which mar- 


riage removes, it augments the energy of the 


NECESSITY OF INTERMARRIAGE. 105 


sanguineous system; the distended arteries carry 
warmth and animation throughout the body ; the 
muscles become more vigorous; the walk is freer; 
the voice firmer; the demeanour unembarrassed ; 
in short, the sanguine temperament predominates. 

Of the greater chances of longevity possessed 
by married people, sufficient reason may be found 
in desires at once gratified and rendered moderate, 
in the activity required for the support of a family, 
in regularity of occupations, iu the certainty of ever 
-having a friend and confident, in the endearing at- 
‘tentions lavished upon each other, and in mutual 
succours during every affliction and infirmity. 

It must not, however, be forgotten, that manifest 


as may be the impulses of Nature, and great as may 
be the desire of complying with her wishes, several 
causes may oppose these, and neglect of them 
may still more surely prove fatal to the health or 


life of the maiden. 

Marriage would, for instance, be deeply injuri- 
ous before the young woman is in a condition to 
perform its functions. In our climate, young 
girls who are married before the age of from 
twenty to twenty-five, are ill adapted to sustain 
the crises of pregnancy, delivery and suckling; 
beauty departs; enfeeblement and nervous affec- 
tions ensue; and these impede the general growth. 
The limbs, consequently, are shorter; and, though 

F 5 


106 RELATIONS LEADING To INTERMARRIAGE. 


the body is less affected as to developement, the 
breaking up is greater. : 


Other insurmountable obstacles to marriage, 


arising from such choices as ensure misery to the 
married couple, disease or insanity in children, 
&c., will be described in the sequel of this work. 


PART III. 


CIRCUMSTANCES RESULTING FROM THE 
PRECEDING RELATIONS, AND CONNECTED 
WITH, OR PRODUCTIVE OF, PROGENY. 


SECTION I. 


NATURAL PREFERENCE OF THE VARIOUS KINDS OF 
BEAUTY FOR THE FIRST TIME EXPLAINED. 


Tuere is a positive and a relative beauty: in | 
other words, beauty differs not only in the two 
sexes, and in every individual in each sex, but, 
each individual forms a different estimate of it in 
relation to himself. Hence, while he confesses 
the.supremacy of a general model of beauty, and 
grants the superiority of the woman who most 
nearly approaches it, he, for himself, decides in 
favour of another woman whose beauty is less re- 
gular, but more suitable to his desires. 

This curious fact has been often noticed, but 
never explained. 


108 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


Madame Necker says, “It is easy to assign a 
reason why a female appears generally beautiful, 
but it would be impossible to understand what 
renders her more agreeable to one person than 
another. How can we explain this unknown con- 
nexion between our organs and the object per- 
ceived? As well might we inquire why red is 
preferred to black !” x 

Sir Walter Scott advances a little further.—« As 
unions are often formed betwixt couples differing 
in complexion and stature, they take place still 
more frequently betwixt persons totally differing in 
feelings, in tastes, in pursuits, and in understand- 
ing [functional is never more frequent than struc- 
tural difference]; and it would not be saying, per- 
haps, too much, to aver, that two-thirds of them ar- 
riages around us have been contracted betwixt per- 


sons, who, judging a priori, we should have thought 
had searce any charms for each other [because, on 
this subject, principles have not been Sought for]. 
« A moral and primary cause might be easily 
assigned for these anomalies, in the wise dispensa- 


* On peut bien dire pourquoi une femme paraît générale- 
ment belle, mais il serait impossible de trouver la raison 
qui la rend plus agréable à une personne qu’à une autre. 
Comment expliquer ce rapport inconnu entre nos organes 
et l'objet qu'ils aperçoivent? Cest vouloir découvrir 
pourquoi lon préfère le rouge au noir. 


NATURAL PREFERENCE EXPLAINED. 109 


tions of Providence, that the general balance of 
wit, wisdom and amiable qualities of all kinds, 
should be kept up through society at large. For, 
what a world were it, if the wise were to inter- 
marry only with the wise, the learned with the 
learned, the amiable with the amiable, nay, even 
the handsome with the handsome? and, is it not 
evident, that the degraded castes of the foolish, 
the ignorant, the brutal, and the deformed (com- 
prehending, by the way, far the greater. portion of 
mankind), must, when condemned to exclusive in- 
_tercourse with each other, become gradually as 
much brutalized in person and disposition as so 
many ouran-outangs? When, therefore, we see 
the € gentle joined with the rude,’ we may lament 
the fate of the suffering individual, but we must 


not the less admire the mysterious disposition of 
that wise Providence which thus balances the 
moral good and evil of life,—which secures for a 


family, unhappy in the dispositions of one parent, 
a share of better and sweeter blood, transmitted 
from the other, and preserves to the offspring the 
affectionate care and protection of at least one of 
those from whom it is naturally due. [Ifthis were 
true, then would the dispensation of Providence 
be counteracted, if the wise man married not a 
foolish woman, the learned man an ignorant one, 
the amiable man a brutal one, &c.—all which is 
absurd. ] | 


Pe yg ct ad 


a TT Mc 


eS ee E 
F r TER 


wa 
iiri i 


110 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


« When, indeed, we look a little closer on the 
causes of those unexpected and ill-suited attach- 
ments, we have occasion to acknowledge, that the 
means by which they are produced do not infer 
that complete departure from, or inconsistency 
with, the character of the parties, which we might 
expect when the result alone is contemplated. 
The wise purposes which Providence appears to 
have had in view, by permitting such intermixture 
of dispositions, tempers and understandings, in the 
married state, are not accomplished by any mys- 
terious impulse by which, in contradiction to the 
ordinary laws of nature, men and women are urged 
to an union with those whom the world see to be 
unsuitable to them. The freedom of will is per- 
mitted to us in the occurrences of ordinary life, as 
in our moral conduct; and in the former as well as 
in the latter case, is often the means of misguiding 
those who possess it. Thus it usually happens, 
more especially to the enthusiastic and imagina- 
tive, that, having formed a picture ‘of admiration in 
their own mind, they too often deceive themselves 
by some faint resemblance of some existing being, 
whom their fancy as Speedily as gratuitously in- 
vests with all the attributes necessary to complete 
the beau ideal of mental perfection. [This view is 
ingenious, and approaches nearer to truth]. No 
one, perhaps, even in the happiest marriage, with 


NATURAL PREFERENCE EXPLAINED. lli 


an object really beloved, ever found all the quali- 
ties he expected to possess; but, in far too many 
cases, he finds he has practised a much higher de- 
gree of mental deception, and has erected his airy 
_ castle of felicity upon some rainbow, which owed 
its very existence only to the peculiar state of the 
atmosphere. 


s It is scarce necessary to add, that these obser- 
vations apply exclusively to what are called love- 
matches ; for when either party fix their attach- 
ment upon the substantial comforts of a rental, or 
a jointure, they cannot be disappointed in the ac- 
quisition, although they may be cruelly so in their 
over-estimation of the happiness it was to afford, 


or in having too slightly anticipated the disadvan- 
tages with which it was to be attended.” 

The question, however, is—Whence comes the 
mental picture supposed by Scott? What relation 
has it to the organisation of the painter of it? 
What is its respective character ? 

Rousel somewhat similarly says, “This dif- 
ference of taste is derived from this, that each 
has in himself a model with which he compares 
the objects which strike him; and this model 
varies according as he is disposed to mix more or 
less of the moral with the physical of love, or ac- 
cording to the images under which pleasure is 
presented to us for the first time. The physical 


112 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


impulse may be so powerful that it divests us of all 
the moral proprieties, to present to us only ma- 
terial objects. Then it may occur that, even in 
these, we sacrifice elegance to other relations more 
intimately connected with the vividness of desire, 
or with the sentiment which we have of its power. 
On the contrary, those in whom the action of these 
last causes is more moderate, will seek, in moral 
considerations, a supplement to the pleasures of 
nature: the qualities of the mind, announced always 
-by the features, the figure, the deportment, the 
gestures, the sound of the voice, will make upon 
them an impression so much the more vivid as 
they have more analogy with their character.” 
This only further tells us, that we, in different 
degrees, prefer physical or moral qualities. But 
the question is—Why do we prefer them? Besides, 
there are great varieties in each of these kinds of 
qualities; and the question again is—Why is each 
particular quality preferred by a different individual? 
The reply demands-a different mode of proce- 
dure, as well as a more minute and careful inves- 
tigation. 
Preference as to ages may first be considered. 
In my work entitled “ BEAUTY, ILLUSTRATED 
' CHIEFLY, BY ‘AN ANALYSIS: AND CLASSICATION OF 
Beauty 1N Woman,” it has been shown that, though 
one particular species of beauty will be found at all 


NATURAL PREFERENCE EXPLAINED. 113 


times to predominate in each individual woman, 
yet that there is ever a tendency, in the young 
woman, to beauty of the locomotive system; in 
the middle-aged woman, to beauty of the vital or 
nutritive system; and, in the older woman, to 
beauty of the mental or thinking system. 

It is not less remarkable, that men of various 
ages generally admire precisely those species of 
beauty which prevail in women at corresponding 
ages. The young man admires beauty of the lo- 
comotive;— the middle-aged man, beauty of the 
vital ;—and the older man, beauty of the mental 
system. . 

Wieland, in his letters of Aristippus, has pointed 
out these diversities, though not quite accurately; 
and, in quoting him, I shall therefore supply the 
words required to express them more perfectly. 
The extract is valuable, as showing how far a man 
without systematic knowledge or accurate nomen- 
clature, had, from feeling and experience, dis- 
covered the truth. 

s Nature has wisely varied our tastes, as she has 
varied our features; but, in addition to this natu- 
ral variety, there is another, the offspring of age, 
or rather of experience. 

“T have observed, that the youth, the full- 
grown. man, and the old man, independently 
of personal tastes and circumstances, differ in 


ee ne eh ee Bis ent. aes 


114 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


their opinion with regard to the beauty of wo- 
men. . 

“The youth is always attracted by a pretty 
face, enchanted with pleasing or regular features 
[he should have added—and a slender and light 
figure—locomotive beauty], and sees no beauty 
but that. As he knows not enjoyment, he is not 
aware that a pretty face is the very thing of which 
a lover is soonest tired; he knows not that this 
presents fewer resources and incitements to plea- 
sure than any other charm ; he reflects not that the 
face belongs to the public, her forms to her lover.” 

Independent of the omission supplied above, 
there is an error here as to the value of a pretty 
face. Men who write on such subjects, should be 
perpetually on their guard against the influence of 
particular female association over their notions of 
beauty. Whenever a man fails to appreciate any 
species of beauty, he should suspect his judgment, 
and ought to be suspected by others. Herrin 
Wieland was doubtless the beau ideal of this de- 
scription; and her other good qualities were doubt- 
less sufficient to render a pretty face not indispen- 
sable. 

“ The adult man, who has been often deceived, 
has learnt, to his cost, that a pretty face should be 
regarded only as a fine sign that attracts but often . 

deceives the traveller; he knows that which de- 


~ 


NATURAL PREFERENCE EXPLAINED. 115 


ceives not are the graces, a soft form and contours 
voluptuously rounded; he knows especially that 
the only thing which never palls, which seems ever 
fresh, and daily procures new enjoyments, and 


whose charm never decays (or at all events very 
late) even by possession, is a soft and satiny skin, 
forms that the eye is never tired of beholding, or 
the hand of caressing, and which seem to possess the 
magic power of incessantly awakening in the breast 
desire which seemed torpid or even extinct [that 
is, beauty of the vital system]. 

_ As to old men, who have long retired from the 
worship of the face [and figure], but find them- 
selves also compelled to relinquish that of [vital] 
forms [including the embonpoint above implied], 
they generally find attraction in countenances that 
bespeak goodness, complaisance and intelligence 
[beauty of the mental system], that is to say, all 
the qualities that are necessary to them, and all 
the charms they are still enabled to enjoy.” 

As, however, woman is more precocious than 
man, she becomes more advanced in reference to 
sex, than man at the same age; and consequently, 
to be duly matched to her husband, the wife should 
be the younger. 2 

Of this admiration, then, and the consequent 
preference, modified as it is by age, it is necessary 
that the foundation should be explained. That 


116 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


foundation appears to be the similarity of objects 
and interests which are inseparable from similar 
periods of life, the association of these with a 
similar intensity of sexual desire, the consequent 
production of similar sympathy, and the resolve 
that it shall be permanent. 

This admiration and preference of correspond- 
ing ages secure, in their turn, those objects and 
interests without which there could be no happy 
superstructure; and whenever this law is much 
violated, it will be found that the pecuniary or 
other interests of one or both have been preferred 
to better ones. 

Suitable states of the vital system happily ac- 
company this sympathy, admiration and preference 
as to ages. ‘This is of the greatest consequence as 
to children, their rearing, maintenance and provi- 
sion—the great purpose for which these sentiments 
exist. 

Public opinion, however vague, is formed on - 
all these views, however obscurely perceived; and, 
in its turn, it serves to vindicate and confirm 
them. 

It would appear, then, that sympathy, admira- 
tion and preference being thus formed, each sex 
naturally and necessarily seeks next, not for quali- 
ties which are its own, but for those of which it is 
not in possession. 


NATURAL PREFERENCE EXPLAINED. 117 


It seeks not these, however, in other species, 
where not only due adaptation for sexual pur- 
poses, but all relations of sympathy are want- 
ing. It seeks them the less even in the varieties 
of its species, that such adaptation and relation 
are very defective, as will be shown in the sequel. 

No being, then, can desire that of which it is 
already in possession; and the preference. of that 
which is different from itself is founded on the ab- 
solute necessity of difference to all excitement. 
An animal cannot feel sexual excitement towards 
itself; it can feel little toward that which is like 
itself; it must feel most toward that which is most 
unlike it. 

There is a beautiful analogy in this respect in 
physical nature. The attraction of affinity takes 


place between opposite or totally different bodies, 


as acids and alcalis, &c. 

This is one of the links by which the sciences, 
vulgarly - distinguished as physical sciences and 
moral sciences, are in reality closely connected and 
constitute one universal science, as I shall show in 
Outlines of a Natural System of Science, to which 
all the leisure I have been able to obtain in life has 
been devoted, and of which the present and other 
works are but a few leaves. The originality of 
that work will not, in any one of its portions, be 
less than that of the present work in all its funda- 


| 

j e - A 7 — o yrs i 

rnar ami ae D lial iaa ei AMD Foe » sail L x 4 = E z _ T J ó * s re PERCE? Á 
Se $ ; Sem ee a S = 

z= nN ESE a Serene eaten on ee y» j ve # y 


118 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


mental principles. Numerous and fundamental 
as they thus are, if inaccurate or false, they will be 
worthless; if true, they must affect the general 
aspect of science. 

Mr. Knight, whose great observing faculties and 
vast experience, well entitle him to be heard on 
this subject, attests the effects produced on pro- 
geny by the existence in parents of the differences 
here alluded to.—In a letter of the Ist of De- 
cember last, he says, “I am disposed to think 
that the most powerful human minds will be found ` 
in offspring of parents of different hereditary con- 
stitutions.—I prefer a male of a different colour 
from the breed of the female, where that can be 
obtained; and I think that I have seen fine chil- 
dren produced in more than one instance, where 
one family has been dark and the other fair. Iam 
sure that I have witnessed the bad effects of mar- 
riages between two individuals very similar to each 
other in character and colour, and springing from 
ancestry of similar character. Such have appeared 

to me to be like marriages between brothers and 
sisters.” 

Man consequently looks for delicacy, flexibility 
and gentleness in his mate; woman, for strength, 
firmness and power. This is, indeed, a natural 
and happy protection against unnatural and infa- 
mous indulgences, 


NATURAL PREFERENCE EXPLAINED. 119 


As this involves the consideration of beauty in 
woman, I again refer to the work on Beauty, of 
which the title has been given, for more correct 
notions of beauty, generally considered, than are 
commonly entertained. 

In the locomotive system, man generally prefers 
a less stature; woman a taller. Love from a man 
towards a masculine woman, would be felt by him 
as an unnatural association with one of his own 
sex; and an effeminate man is equally repugnant 
to woman, whose weakness seeks support in the 
wants which it feels, or in the dangers which it 

imagines. 

If unluckily an unnatural condition occur—if sex- 
ual proportions be reversed, by man being little, and 
woman tall, even those opposites will be accepted 
or sought for. An effeminate man is indeed better 
matched with a masculine woman who sustains the 
character of which he is incapable. But, for him, 
it is a despicable position. 

In the vital system, the dry seek the humid; 
the meagre, the plump; the hard, the softer; the 
rough, the smoother; the warmer, the colder; the 
dark, the fairer, &c., upon the same principles ; 
and so also, if here any of the more usual sexual 
qualities are reversed, the opposite ones will be 
accepted or sought for. 

In the mental system, the irritable seek the 


ee S E E 


ep ae aa IP > ps ae 


120 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


calm; the grave, the gay; the impassioned, the 
modest ; the impetuous, the gentle, &c.; or, in op- 
posite cases, the opposite. ' 

In all, it is not what we possess in ourselves Sit 
is something different, something new, something 
capable of exciting, which is sought for; and this 
conforms to, the fundamental difference of the 
sexes. | 

The same principle operates with reference to 
marriages between persons closely related. More- 
over, other sentiments existing from infancy, in 
consequence of such relationship, tend powerfully 
to diminish physical love, or to produce the most 
injurious effects. Incest amongst the Persians, 
permitted by Zoroaster, produced either diseased 
or degenerate offspring, or absolute sterility, as we 
see in breeding in-and-in among animals. 

A remarkabie illustration of this occurred to the 
writer, at a time when he was less acquainted than he 
now is, with the differences of taste in this respect, 
and with their causes. Observing, in a Rams- 
gate steam-boat by which he travelled, a gentleman 
who was characterised, as far as man well can be, 
by beauty of the vital system—not certainly the 
most suitable to man, but who was nevertheless 
so good-looking as to attract general observation, 
he could not help saying to himself, “ If that gen- 
tleman has a sister, she is no doubt a delightful 


+ 


NATURAL PREFERENCE EXPLAINED. 121 


creature,—her fine flaxen hair,—the sweet and in- - 
nocent expression of her face, —her soft blue eyes, 
—the velvet texture of her skin, —the rose and lily 
of her complexion,—her softly rounded shoulders, 
—her luxuriant bosom,—the. voluptuous enbon- 
point,”—when his ear was struck by the words, “ I 
admire the women of Kent,” and, looking up, he 
saw they were uttered by the very man whose 
sister had suggested the preceding train of re- 
flection !—“‘ Are they not,” said the astonished 
writer, “in general a little too tall ?’—“ O! 
not at all,” said this rather short gentleman; « I 
admire a tall woman !”—“ Are they not,” said the 
writer, “a little too thin?’—“Not more go, I 
think,” said this fat gentleman, “ than is essential 
to elegance !”—-** Are they not,” said the writer, 
“ a little too dark ?”—* Ah,” said this fair gentle- 
man, “ I admire a brunette !”—* Perhaps,” said 
the writer, confounded and vexed at all this,— 
*¢ perhaps you also admire the occasionally roughish 
voices and slight mustaches of their cousins, the 
French women of the opposite coast ?”— That,” 
exclaimed this rather womanly-looking gentleman, 
— that is the very thing I am delighted with !” 
~—After this, as the writer then thought, frightful 
perversion of ideas, the conversation dropped. 
Thus, then, the points of resemblance and agree- 

ment as to age, and those of difference and dis- 


G 


122 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


agreement as to all other qualities, are accounted 


for. 

It will be seen, however, how manifold and pow- 
erful are these differences and disagreements as to 
all sexual qualities; and it consequently will not 
be wondered, if, in a matter which regards the 
sexes, the love of such difference and disagreement 
overcome, under certain circumstances, the con- 
sideration of agreement as to age. 

It has been seen, that the desire of conformity 
in age springs out of the first notion of want, love, 
sympathy, and especially of resolve of permanent 
possession. If, however, under any circumstances, 
the idea of permanence is got rid of, even differ- 
ence of age may obviously be desired. Hence, 
in temporary attachments, such difference is some- 
times actually sought —the elder of either sex seek 
the young; and the young the elder. 

As, during youth, even women who are not ab- 
solutely beautiful have some charms, and afford the 
contrasts desired, we see that such women are sought 
by men in advanced age.—The zeal, however, 
with which this is desired, has been justly ob- 
served to be the measure of the decline of repro- 
ductive power. . 

It has already appeared, that the vital system 
is the most essential to woman, and that, in middle 
life, there is always a tendency to beauty of that 


> 


NATURAL PREFERENCE EXPLAINED. 123 


species. This is the cause of another deviation 
from the general preference just described, by 
which the young sometimes, and especially those 
whose irritable minds seek a kind of voluptuous 
repose, prefer, by an apparent anomaly, women of 
more advanced age and more developed vital sys- 
tem. Even in this case, however, the preference 
is but a partial one. It is a passion which expires 
with its gratification, and which its subject would 
perhaps blush to acknowledge. 

Tn all that is temporary in love, there are even 
physical causes of such preferences, which it would 
not be proper here to discuss. ‘There are also 
both physical and moral consequences of these 
preferences, which it would be equally improper to 
enter upon. 

Thus love does not depend on abstract beauty, 
but on such differences as are consistent with an 
instinctive feeling of suitableness, which deeply 
affects us, which first acts upon and agitates the 
imagination, and which that faculty afterwards acts 
upon and aggrandises. The rapidity of these 
effects depends on individual temperament, so that 
sometimes a sudden and violent passion is pro- 
duced by first sight. 

Sometimes an accidental, subordinate and inju- 
rious difference, and the association founded upen 
it, influence this affection; and, by a strange blun- 

Ga 


124 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


der, the mere accidental circumstance, in after 
life, is substituted for that with which it was asso- 
ciated. Hence, even Descartes, a man capable of 
discrimination in other things, said that all squint- 
ing women pleased him, because the first woman 
he had loved had that defect. 

From both these causes, the circumstance arises, 
that we frequently see women, in spite of ugliness 
and the absence of other commendations, attract 
and engage in marriage men who might have com- 
manded beauty, accomplishment and fortune. 

Certain it is, that love, thus excited by differ- 
ences, is favourable to fecundity; and those mar- 
riages in which it exists, are always more prolific 
than such as are founded on interest. Hence, 
while a married couple have been known to be 
steril, each, after divorce, has become prolific with 
an individual of opposite constitution ; and it is 
stated, that congress was abolished, in the seven- 
teenth century, owing to the circumstance of M. 
de Langeais, incapable of the duties of marriage 
with his own wife, being very fruitful with another 
lady better suited to him. 


Thus, while, in love, similarity is required as to 
the variety of species and as to age, difference is 
looked for in all other respects, and is necessary 
not only to its existence, but to all its best effects. 
Hence the practical observation has been made, 


STATE OF MARRIAGE. 125 


that if persons of similar temperament are joined 
together, as Voltaire and Madame de Chatelet, 
‘who could neither quit nor endure each other long, 
this similitude both produces a series of quarrels, 
and becomes a remarkable cause of sterility. 

The beneficial tendency of this love of difference 
does not terminate here: it leads to those slight 
crosses in intermarriage between persons of dif- 
ferent organization, which are as essential to the 


improvement of the races of men as we have found 


them to be to those of animals. 

It is the operation of this principle, an operation 
which may be morally less desirable, that, acting 
most powerfully when the passion of love is strongest 
and the system most vigorous, seeks to exhaust 
itself in that variety which is to be found even ina 
succession of objects. Indeed, every moral error 
or imprudence of this kind originates in a natural 


law. 


SECTION II. 


STATE OF MARRIAGE. 


Marriage is the result of the preference which 
has just been described; and in its first act, the 


126 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


neglect of care, management and patience may pro- 
duce serious injury. In general, danger is less a 
few days after the catamenia, in other respects the 
proper period. Dr. Plazoni describes the case of a 
young woman in whom the vulvo-uterine canal was 
ruptured; and Diemerbroek states, that two young 
Dutch women died of hemorrhage. 

It is at this moment that, in woman, the uterine 
system being raised to the highest pitch of excite- 
ment, the Fallopian tubes become active ; their 
fimbriæ clasp the ovaries, forming a tubular com- 
munication between these and the matrix; and an 
ovum, detached by the excitement, enters the open 
mouth of one of the tubes, and by it is slowly con- 
veyed to the matrix: after which the wound thus 
made on the surface of the ovary, is closed with a 
cicatrix, and leaves behind a corpus luteum. Itis 
probably at the moment of spasm by which the 
ovum is burst from the ovarium, that takes place 


the general shudder which women of great sensi- 


bility feel at conception, 

It has been inquired, says Beck, “ whether 
pregnancy may follow defloration? I apprehend 
that this is to be answered in the affirmative, al- 
though the instances are comparatively rare. It is 
quite common, in cases of seduction, to swear that 
there has been only a single coitus; and although 
this may be doubted in some, yet, in others, there 


= 


STATE OF MARRIAGE. 127 


is hardly just ground to disbelieve a solemn affir- 
mation. It also has occasionally, I presume, 0c 
curred to most physicians, on comparing the term 
of gestation with the period of marriage, to ren- 
der it probable that the pregnancy must have hap- 
pened at the earliest possible term.”—This, I be- 
lieve, has been too easily conceded. 

The phenomena, above described, are succeeded 
by a sinking, which is proportioned to the previous 
excitement, and which endures for a short time. 
The nervous and muscular systems fall into col- 
lapse, and the countenance expresses apathy and 
wonder. Love, however, by satisfying desire, re- 
stores to the vital organs regular action, and to the 
mind tranquillity, and a tendency to repose. 

The first acts of love tend to complete the de- 
velopement of the organs of which they are the 
functions. The sympathetic swelling of glandular 
parts, especially in the neck and mamme, is often 
their consequence. Hence, in ancient times, phy- 
sicians considered the increased thickness of the 


neck in young women, asa sign of defloration; and 


they were wrong only in regarding it as certain. 

On the subject of force, I quote the observations 
of Beck,—changing, however, both in him and 
some other writers here quoted, all coarse and in- 
delicate terms employed by them. 

«I have intimated that doubts exist whether 


iernii enti 


128 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


violence can succeed against a grown female, in 
good health and strength . . . The opinion of me- 
dical jurists is generally very decisive against it... 
Metzger allows only of three cases in which the 
crime can be consummated :—where narcotics have 
been administered,—where several are engaged 
against the female,—and where a strong man at- 


tacks one who is not arrived at the age of puberty. 

“ It may with justice be supposed, that, in addi- 
tion to the cases allowed, fear or terror may ope- 
rate on a helpless female—she may resist for a 
long time, and then faint from fatigue, or the dread 
of instant murder may lead to the abandonment of 
active resistance.” 

Dr. A. T. Thomson, in his lectures, agrees 
in the main with the author I have quoted. 
He suggests, that, in this effort “with a healthy 
female of adult age, who is really anxious to pre- 
serve chastity unsullied, the mind of the man 
must necessarily be so much abstracted from such 
effort, in overcoming the resistance offered to him, 
and in repelling the attacks of the injured person, 
that independent of corporeal exhaustion, the state 
of his mind will render it utterly impossible for 
him ever to effect that which constitutes the cri- 
minal intent.” 

“Can a female,” it has been asked, “be thus in- 
jured during sleep without her knowledge?” . , If 


STATE OF MARRIAGE. 129 


the sleep has been caused by powerful narcotics, 
by intoxication, or if syncope or excessive fatigue 


be present, it is possible that this may occur ; and 
it ought then to be considered, to all intents; the 
crime ... In natural sleep, I totally disbelieve 
its possibility with a pure person” .. . But “ in 
females accustomed to such intercourse, it has been 
supposed practicable.” 

Parents are not, at all times, equally fitted for, 
or capable of, reproduction. With a view to ensur- 
ing this, by increasing ardour, Lycurgus restricted 
the frequency of its acts. 

« The state of society,” says Shelley, “ in which 
we exist, is a mixture of feudal savageness and im- 
perfect civilization. The narrow and unenlighten- 
ed morality of some religious sects is an aggra- 
vation of these evils. It is not even until lately 
that mankind have admitted that happiness is the 
sole end of the science of ethics, as of all other 
sciences; and that the fanatical idea of mortifying 
the flesh for the love of God has been discarded. 
I have heard, indeed, an ignorant collegian ad- 
duce, in favour of Christianity, its hostility to every 
worldly feeling !” * 

To some sects, who regard the acts of reproduc- 


* The first christian emperor made a law by which 
seduction was punished with death ; if the female pleaded 


2 
her own consent, she also was punished with death ; if 


G5 


130 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


tion as defiling the body, as acts of bestiality, Mon- 
taigne says, “ Are we not beasts to regard the ac- 
tion by which we exist as beastly?” And a high 
authority, Tertullian, says, “ Natura veneranda est, 
non erubescenda. Concubitum libido, non con- 
ditio, foedavit: excessus, non status, est impu- 
dicus.” 

In relation to time, woman is more disposed, and 
conception more probable, immediately after the 
occurrence of the catamenia; and, during the 
twenty-four hours, evening is certainly the most 
suitable period. Slight fatigue is repaired during 
sleep, and man awakes better disposed for his duties. 

As to frequency, Bacon beautifully says, “ the 
debauches of youth are so many conspiracies against 
old age.” And it must be observed, that, in con- 
sequence probably of his greater waste, man ap- 
pears to be more fatigued thereby than woman does. 
Hence, perhaps, he is, for the most part, shorter 
lived than she is; and this is the case in relation 
to the male and female of inferior animals. The 
brief duration of male life is especially remarkable 


the parents endeavoured to screen the criminals, they 
were banished, and their estates were confiscated ; the 
slaves who might be accessary were burned alive, or 
forced to swallow melted lead. The very offspring of 
illegal love were involved in the consequences of the sen- 
tence! 


STATE OF MARRIAGE. — IBL 


amongst insects, which sometimes perish in the re- 
productive act, and, as has been observed, leave 
‘their whole life to their posterity. 5o, amongst 
dicecious plants, although the female flowers first, 
the male fades after he has ejected his fertilismg 
pollen. Throughout nature, the female sex appear 
to survive for the purpose of nourishing the of- 
spring. : 

Great reserve is, in this respect, required of 
feeble persons with soft fibres, and greater or less 
sensibility. 

The usual effect of excess in the female is in- 
fammation of the reproductive organs, producing 
deranged catamenia, hemorrhages and leucorrhcea. 
But such inflammations extend, and attack the 
whole body of the matrix; and, by being frequently 
re-excited, they eventually produce vaginal ulcera- 
tions, uterine disorganization, and consequent ste- 
rility. 

Excesses, it is probable, also affect the tissue of 
the mammary glands, and tend to produce cancer ; 
for we know the great sympathy of the matrix and 
mamme, and it is stated, that females labouring 
under that disease, and indulging in pleasure, have 
experienced a striking increase of suffering. 

In cases of such excess, the food is ill digested ; 
absorption is imperfectly performed ; and great 
meagreness is the consequence. The action of 


132 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


the heart, being frequently increased to violent 
pulsation, the other organs are subjected to a de- 
gree of excitement which readily becomes a state 
of disease. Both from that cause and from the 
disorder directly produced in their circulation by 
the act of reproduction, the lungs become liable to 
inflammation. These united give rise to aneurism, 
heemoptisis, pneumonia, phthisis. : 

The organs of sense share in the derangement 
which arises from this cause. The eyes become 
weak, unable to endure the light, and are some- 
times tormented by sparks and other objects danc- 
ing before them. Hearing gradually fails, and the 
ear is sometimes affected by a buzzing sensation. 


General nervous affections, or faintness and languor 
are also its results. 


The brain, in the earlier stage of these indul- 
gences, may be excited into the state of eroto- 
mania. In general, the shocks given to, and the 
consequent disorder of, the brain, produce loss of 
attention and of memory; the slightest occurrence 
causes tumult in the mind; the faculty of thinking 
is almost entirely lost; and a state of stupidity and 
mental degradation ensues. Exaggerated sensi- 
bility, pitiable terrors, and a pusillanimous cha- 
racter are the consequences of this, in a great num- 
ber of sufferers. 

Their muscular powers are speedily enfeebled ; 


STATE OF MARRIAGE. 133 


they can scarcely drag themselves along ; and the 


slightest exertion fatigues them. Paralytic or 
spasmodic dispositions, sometimes epilepsy, gradu- 
ally affect them. Hoffman and Tissot relate cases 
of females much addicted to indulgences, who ex- 
perienced epileptic attacks whenever they com- 
plied with their desires. 

Finally, a life, which is burthensome to all who 
are interested in them, and painful to themselves, 
is closed by a death which leaves their memory an 
object only of contempt or disgust. 

From all this it is evident, that persons labour- 
ing under disease should abstain from such indul- 
gences, which frequently produce relapse, and 
sometimes sudden death. Old men, in particular, 
are often attacked by apoplexies, amidst their en- 
joyments. Yet the pleasures of love cause none 
of these affections when used with moderation. 

Continence is commonly enjoined women whilst 
suckling, and generally it seems necessary, for in- 
dulgence has often caused cholics and other dis- 
orders to the infant. But there are also cases in 
which lactation excites erotic impressions, or in 
which, on the contrary, such impressions render 
the lacteal secretion more active. 

It is when all the evils that have been described 
are guarded against, and when the love of the 
parents is most active, that reproduction and the 


184 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


developement of the germ is best ensured. Hence 
it has been observed, that even licentious women, 
who have no children in consequence of the excess 
which enervates them, become fruitful when driven 
to abstinence either by seclusion or by a regular 
marriage. 

Beck asks, “ Does pregnancy ever follow vio- 
lence?” On this question, a great diversity of opi- 
nion has existed. 

“ It was formerly supposed that a certain degree 
of enjoyment was necessary in order to cause con- 
ception; and, accordingly, the presence of preg- 
nancy was deemed to exclude the idea of force. 

“ Late writers, however, urge that the functions 
of the uterine system are, in a great degree, in- 
dependent of the will; and that there may be 
physical constraint on [involuntary excitement of ] 
those organs sufficient to induce the required 
state, although the will itself is not consenting. 

«& We do not know what is necessary to cause 
conception; but if we reason from analogy, we 
shall certainly find cases where females have con- 
ceived while under the influence of narcoties, of 
intoxication, and even of asphyxia, and, conse- 
quently, without knowing or partaking of the enjoy- 
ment that is insisted on. 

“ It is not, perhaps, altogether impossible,” says 
Dr. Good, “ that impregnation should take place 


STATE OF MARRIAGE. 135 


in the case of violence, or where there is a great re- 
pugnance on the part of the female ; for there may 
be so high a tone of constitutional orgasm, as to be 
beyond the control of the individual who is thus 
forced, and not to be repressed even by a virtuous 
recoil, or a sense of horror at the time. But, this 
is a possible, rather than an actual case; and 
though the remark may be sufficient to ‘suspend a 
charge of criminality, the infamy can be completely 
wiped away only by collateral circumstances.—In 
ordinary instances, rude, brutal force is never 
found to succeed against the consent of the injured 
person.” 

To me, it appears that, on this subject, the as- 
sertions of women are of no weight; andI have 
not yet seen the physiological reasons which at all 
satisfy me, that an act which is partially volun- 
tary, and appears to be always accompanied with 
enjoyment, can be performed under horror and dis- 
gust. Under the influence of narcotics, intoxica- 
tion, or asphyxia, volition is inactive: under 
horror and disgust, it is powerfully active and 
directly opposed to the result in question. The 
effects which.take place in dreams are never at- 
tended by horror and disgust. Similarly, the smell 
of inviting and desirable food will cause saliva to 


flow into the mouth in spite of any ordinary effort 
of the will to restrain it; but the smell of food ex- 


=e -—- = = > 


ee 


—— 


= 


SS E EE 
EESE A ea = 


ee 


i 
| 
| 
i 
iW 


136 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


citing horror and disgust will produce no such 
effect. Assafcetida or garum undoubtedly excited 
the salivary glands of the filthy Romans: they 
would not excite those of the cleanlier English. I, 
therefore, believe the opinions which prevail on 
this subject in our courts of justice to be utterly 
wrong. What cruel injustice they may have per- 
petrated ! 

The faculty of Leipsic decided “ dormientem in 
sella virginem insciam deflorari posse.”’— Valen- 
tini, sneering at the ridiculous decision, says, 
« Non omnes dormiunt, qui clausos et conniventes 
habent oculos !’—the only answer it deserves. 

As to the period of gestation, Dr. Beck is of 
opinion, that if a mature child be born before the 
seventh month after connexion, it ought to be con- 
sidered illegitimate. 

In this country, the allowed term for gestation 
is nine calendar months or forty weeks; but, as 
generally there is difficulty in determining. the 
exact day between any two catamenial periods, 
it is usual to count the forty weeks from the 
middle of their interval, or, in other words, to 
allow forty-two weeks, or two hundred and ninety- 
four days, from the last catamenia; and within a 
few days before or after the expiration of this 
term, the labour may be expected.—By the Code 
Napoleon, the legitimacy of a child, born three 


FORMS AND QUALITIES PROPAGATED. 137 


hundred days after a dissolution of marriage, 
may be questioned.—The Prussian civil code, how- 
ever, declares that an infant, born three hundred 
and two days after the death of the husband, shall 
be considered legitimate. Cases protracted be- 
yond this period are explained only by accoucheurs 
of exceeding benevolence, and in favour of persons 
of great private or public respect. 

Most of the other subjects connected with mar- 
riage are discussed at length in my work entitled 
WoMAN PHYSIOLOGICALLY CONSIDERED AS TO, 
Minp, Morars, MARRIAGE, MATRIMONIAL Srani 
VERY, INFIDELITY AND DIVORCE. 


SECTION III. 


FORMS AND QUALITIES PROPAGATED. 


« Prrny remarks,” says Camper, “that nature is 
by no means regular in the procreation of the hu- 
man race : so that parents rarely give birth to chil- 
dren that resemble themselves. Persons who are 
well formed have misshapen children; whilst those 
of deformed parents are well made. Mothers also 
give birth to children that sometimes resemble 


138 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


themselves, sometimes the father, and sometimes 
resemble neither one nor the other.” 

This assertion is more worthy of Pliny than of 
Camper : its latter part is entirely untrue. I will 
venture to say, that there never was a child that 
did not strikingly resemble both its real parents, 
if resemblance was looked for where it ought to be ; 
as I shall point out in the sequel. But such as- 
sertions show the actual state of knowledge on this 
subject, 

_ Meanwhile, as Mr. Lawrence has collected some 
facts which show that forms and qualities some- 
times are propagated, I avail myself of them and a 
few others to illustrate that point. 

Proof of the effect which may be produced in 
consequence of the hereditary nature of great sta- 
ture, is to be found in a fact related by Dr. R. 
Forster. The guards of the late King Frederic 
William of Prussia, and likewise those of the pre- 
sent monarch, who are all of an uncommon size, 
have been quartered at Potsdam for fifty years 
past. A great number of the present inhabitants 
of that place are of very high stature, which is 
more especially striking in the numerous gigantic 
figures of women. This certainly is owing to the 
connexions and intermarriages of the tall men with 
the females of that town. 

Haller observes that his own family had been 


FORMS AND QUALITIES PROPAGATED. 139 


distinguished by tallness of stature for three gene- 
rations, without excepting one out of numerous 
grandsons descended from one grandfather. 
Individuals are occasionally produced with super- 
numerary members on the hands or feet, or on 
both; and from these, whether males or females, 
the organic peculiarity frequently passes to their 
children. This does not constantly happen, be- 


cause they intermarry with persons of the ordinary 
form. Pliny has mentioned examples of six-fin- 
gered persons among the Romans: such indivi- 

duals received the additional name of sedigitus or p 
sedigita. C. Horatius had two daughters with 
this peculiarity. Reaumur speaks of a family in 


which a similar structure existed for three gene- 
rations, being transmitted both in the male and 
female lines. Sir Anthony Carlisle has recorded 
the particulars of a family, in which he traced super- 
numerary toes and fingers for four generations. 
They were introduced by a female, who had six 
fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot. 
From her marriage with a man naturally formed, 
were produced ten children with a supernumerary 
member on each limb, and an eleventh, in which 
the peculiarity existed in both feet and one hand, 
the other hand being naturally formed. The latter 
married a man of the ordinary formation: they had 
four children, of which three had one or two limbs 


140 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE oF PROGENY. 


natural, and the rest with the supernumerary parts, 
while the fourth had six fingers on each hand, and 
as many toes on each foot. The latter married a 
woman naturally formed, and had issue by her, 
eight children, four with the usual structure, and 
the same number with supernumerary fingers or 


toes. Two of them were twins, of which one was 
naturally formed, the other six-fingered and six- 
toed. 

At Leyton, a little village in Essex, about five 
> miles eastward of London, lives at present ‘Thomas 
Spackman, a thatcher and hay-binder. He has 
twelve toes, six on each foot; and a few years since 
he had ten fingers, five on each hand, beside 
thumbs, but, by accident at work, the small finger 
on the left hand was torn off, leaving full evidence, 
however, by the stump left, where the extra mem. 
ber had been. The additional toes, like the odd 
finger, are not articulated, although in all other 
respects of natural formation: they are without 
tendons, and merely connected, it seems, by slight 
ligaments. Hig great-grandfather and the whole of 
his ancestors have been noted for the production 
of these additional members, He himself has | 
several children with the same additional parts ; 
the only exception being in a daughter of the age 
of twelve years, who has twelve toes, but hands of 
the ordinary formation. 


FORMS AND QUALITIES PROPAGATED. 141 


Another remarkable example of the occurrence 
of a singular organic peculiarity, and of its heredi- 
tary transmission, was afforded by the English 
family of porcupine men, who derived that name 
from the greater part of the body being covered by 
hard, dark-coloured excrescences of a horny nature. 
The whole surface, excepting the head and face, 
the palms and soles, was occupied by this unnatural 
kind of integument. The first account of this 
family is found in the Philosophical Transactions, 
and consists of the description of a boy, named 
Edward Lambert, fourteen years old, born in Suf- 
folk, and exhibited to the Royal Society in 1731, 
by Mr. Machin, one of the secretaries. “ It was 
not easy to think of any sort of skin or natural in- 
tegument that exactly resembled it. Some com- 
pared it to the bark of a tree; others thought it 
looked like seal-skin; others, like the skin of an 
elephant, or the skin about the legs of the rhino- 
ceros; and some took it to be like a great wart, or 
number of warts uniting and overspreading the 
whole body. The bristly parts, which were chiefly 
about the belly and flanks, looked and rustled like 
the bristles or quills of a hedgehog, shorn off within 
an inch of the skin.” ‘These productions were 
hard, callous and insensible. Other children of 
the same parents were naturally formed. 

In a subsequent account, presented to the so- 


142 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


ciety twenty-four years afterwards, by Mr. H. 
Baker, and illustrated with a figure of the hands, 
this man was said to continue in the same state. 
He was a good-looking person and enjoyed good 
health; everything connected with his excretions 
was natural; and he derived no inconvenience 
from the state of his skin, except that it would 
crack and bleed after very hard work. He had 
now been shown in London under the name of the 
Porcupine Man. “The coverings,” says Mr. 
Baker, “seemed most near! zy to resemble an in- 
numerable company of warts, of a dark-brown 
colour, and a cylindrical figure, rising to a like 
height (an inch, at their full size), and growing as 
close as possible to one another, but so stiff and 
elastic, that when the hand was drawn over them 
they made a rustling noise.” They were shed an- 
nually, in the autumn or winter, and succeeded by 
a fresh growth, which at first were of a paler brown. 
“ He had had the small-pox, and had been twice 
salivated, in hopes of getting rid of this disagree- 
able covering; during which disorders the warts 
came off, and his skin appeared white and smooth, 
like that of other people; but on his recovery, it 
soon became as it was before. His health at other 
times had been very good during his whole life.” 
. “* He had had six children, all with the same 
rugged covering as himself; the first appearance 


FORMS AND QUALITIES PROPAGATED. 143 


whereof in them, as well as in him, came on in 
about nine weeks after the birth. Only one of 


them was living, a very pretty boy, eight years of 
age, whom I saw and examined with his father, 
and who was exactly in the same condition. 

- Two brothers, John Lambert, aged twenty-two, 
and Richard, aged fourteen, who must have been 
grandsons of the original porcupine man, Edward 
Lambert, were shown in Germany, and had the 
cutaneous incrustation already described. A mi- 
nute account of them was published by Dr. W. G. 
Tilesius, who mentions that the wife of the elder, 
at the time he saw him, was in England pregnant. 

I may cite a single example to prove, what will 
to most persons seem unnecessary, namely, that 
mental defects are propagated as well as corporeal. 
« We know,” says Haller, “a very remarkable in- 
stance of two noble females, who got husbands on 
account of their wealth, although they were nearly 
idiots, and from whom this mental defect has ex- 
tended for a century into several families, so that 
some of all their descendants still continue idiots in 
the fourth and even in the fifth generation.” 

Now, if the six-fingered and six-toed could be 
matched together, and the breed could be pre- 
served pure by excluding all who had not these ad- 
ditional members, there is no doubt that a perma- 
nent race might be formed constantly possessing 


144 CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCTIVE OF PROGENY. 


this number of fingers and toes . . . So also, if the 
porcupine family had been exiled from human so- 
ciety, and been obliged to take up their abode in 
some solitary spot or desert island,—by matching 
with each other, a race would have been produced, 
more widely different from us in external appear- 


ance than the negro. 

The gipsies afford an example of a people spread 
over all Europe for the last four centuries, and 
nearly confined in marriages, by their peculiar way 
of life, to their own tribe. In Transylvania, where 
there isa great number of them, and the race re- 
mains pure, their features can consequently be 
more accurately observed. In every country and 
climate, however, which they have inhabited, they 
preserve their distinctive character so perfectly, 
that they are recognized at a glance, and cannot be 
confounded with the natives. 

The Jews exhibit a striking instance of a pecu- 
liar national countenance, so strongly marked in 
almost every individual, that persons the least used 
to physiognomical observations detect it instantly, 
though not easily understood or described. Re- 
ligion has, in this case, most successfully exerted its 
power in preventing communion with other races ; 
and this exclusion of intercourse with all others has 
preserved the Jewish countenance (and with it mode 
of life, dirtiness, and cutaneous disease) so com- 


FORMS AND QUALITIES PROPAGATED. 145 


pletely in every soil and climate, that a miracle 
has been thought necessary to account for it. 

We see a general similitude in persons of the 
same blood, and can distinguish one brother by his 
resemblance to another, or know a son by his like- 
ness to the father or mother, or even to the grand- 
father or grandmother. All the individuals of 
some families are characterized by particular lines 
of countenance ; and we frequently observe a pecu- 
liar feature continued in a family for many genera- 
tions. We especially observe the same features 
and habits descending from one to another in par- 
ticular families that seldom form alliances with per- 
sons of different rank, as amongst kings and nobi- 
lity. Such are the features of the Guelfs, the 
Bourbons, those of the reigning house of Austria, 
in which the thick lip introduced by the mar- : 
riage of the Emperor Maximilian with Mary of 
Burgundy, is visible in their descendants to this 
day, after a lapse of three ‘centuries. 


I may conclude this section, then, by stating the 


great fact, THAT LIKE PRODUCES LIKE, not In gene- 
ralities (for generalization is an act of the mind) 
but in details, modified only by the necessity of 
adaptation between two beings uniting for the pro- 
duction of a third one, and by subordinate circum- 
stances affecting them. 


PART IV. 


NEWLY DISCOVERED NATURAL LAWS REGU- 
LATING THE RESEMBLANCE OF PROGENY 
TO PARENTS. 


SECTION I. 


LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


We are told by Dr. Pritchard, that, “The children 
of the same parents, though often bearing a general 
resemblance, yet exhibit always some difference, 
and frequently a considerable diversity in these re- 
spects. To account for this apparently capricious 
variety, is not what we attempt. That there must be a 
sufficient reason why each individual figure should 
assume its own precise character, rather than any 
other, is not to be doubted, but the causes which 
predetermine it, seem to be beyond the reach of hu- 
man sagacity, or at least they will never be dis- 
covered, until the details of general physiology, 


LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 147 


and the theory of generation in particular, shall be 
much better understood, than they seem likely ever 
to be.” —Such assertions have probably preceded all 
new observations, however simple. That they are 
discouraging and mischievous, is evident. That 
they are untrue, I shall endeavour to show in the 
sequel. 

An imperfect outline of this Section appeared in 
the London Medical and Surgical Journal, for 25, 
May, 1883. It was reprinted with additions, in 
March, 1837, as a pamphlet, with the title, “ In- 
fluence of Natural Beauty, and its Defects, on Off- 
spring; and Law Regulating the Resemblance of 
Progeny to Parents; circulated (privately) in order 
to obtain information from those who have the 
means of observing, in furtherance of a work on 
this subject.” 

Some facts are now to be described, which 
are certainly amongst the most curious and in- 
teresting of those which appear to have escaped 
the notice of philosophic observers. 

This is the more surprising, as it requires but 
little analytical power to detect them,—as, when 
observed, they appear to be of the simplest descrip- 
tion,—and as the regularity of their sequence is 
such that they appear to tend to general laws. 


These laws regard the mode in which the orga- 
nization of parents affects that of children, or re- 
H 2 


ose 


——S 


CS SSE SES 


y48 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


gulates the organs which each parent respectively 
bestows—the mode in which like produces like. 

Among animals, the mere effects of these laws 
have been observed to take place; but the laws 
themselves, on which these effects depend, have in 
no case been defined ; nor, consequently, have they 
been applied to, or observed to operate among, 
mankind. 

So little have these laws been thought of among 
breeders, that my correspondent * * *, in a letter 
of the 21, March, 1837, says, “ I doubt much whe- 
ther the breeders of domestic animals can give you 
any information: the points of shape to which you 
refer are considered by them so entirely matters of 
indifference, that they never attend to them at all.” 
And, in one to Dr. Birkbeck, of the 4, February, he 
says, “I should doubt whether the experiments 
which have been made with the view of improving 
the breeds of domestic animals can bear any very 
close analogy to the effects of intermarriages among 
mankind.” Knowing, however, the uniformity and 
simplicity of natural operations, the value of com- 
parative anatomy, and the strict dependence of phy- 
siological action on anatomical structure, it was im- 
possible to be discouraged. 

These laws were discovered by observation 
turned to the subject, in the conviction that some 
such laws must exist. As, however, they ascend to, 


LAWS QF RESEMBLANCE. 149 


and have their origin in, the structure and functions 
of the body, it is evident that, in an attempt to com- 
municate a knowledge of them to others, a very 


brief view of such structure and functions—the pro- 


per objects of anatomy and physiology—will facili- 
tate their explanation. That brief view, which is 
itself original, is given under the title of Preximi- 
NARY, at the beginning of the work; and the reader 
is entreated to make himself master of it, in order 
to facilitate his understanding the whole of the 
sequel.- The task is but a short one. 

By some physiologists, the influence which in- 
termarriages exert over the forms of mankind, has 
been overrated. Mr. Lawrence says, “ Connexions 
in marriage will generally be formed on the idea of 
human beauty in any country; an influence this, 
which will gradually approximate the countenance 
towards one common standard. If men, in the af- 
fair of marriage, were as much under management 
as some animals are in the exercise of their gene- 
rative functions, an absolute ruler might accomplish, 
in his dominions, almost any idea of the human 
form.” 

Cabanis more correctly says, “It cannot be 
doubted that, in the human race, improved as it 
may be by a long physical and moral culture, par- 
ticular traits will still distinguish individuals, as 
they distinguish the individuals among inferior ani- 
mals which we have so highly improved.” 


1590 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE, 


Cabanis was not aware that he might have as- 
serted much more than this. I have, I believe, 
established the truth that, in the propagation of 
organs from parents to children, organization is 
nearly indestructible ; for it may often be seen that 
neither nourishment entirely derived from the mo- 
ther, nor climate, nor education, diminishes an ori- 
ginal resemblance to the father. 

Each parent, nevertheless, communicates a dis- 
tinct series of organs; and the only modifications 
which the organs communicated by either parent 
undergo, are chiefly, if not altogether, such as are 
necessary to harmony of action with those commu- 
nicated by the other parent, and such as are pro- 
duced by difference of sex. 


I. Law oF SELECTION, 


WHERE BOTH PARENTS ARE OF THE SAME VARIETY. 


1.—Organs Communicated by One Parent—the 
Anterior Series. 


In this case, ONE PARENT COMMUNICATES THE 
ANTERIOR PART OF THE HEAD,* THE OSSEOUS OR 
BONY PART OF THE FACE, THE FORMS OF THE OR- 
GANS OF SENSE (the external ear, under lip, lower 
part of the nose, and eyebrows being often modified), 


* And, I believe, the upper middle part also. 


LAW OF SELECTION. 151 


AND THE WHOLE OF THE INTERNAL NUTRITIVE SYS- 
TEM (the contents of the trunk, or the thoracic and 
abdominal viscera, and consequently the form of the 
trunk itself, in so far as that depends upon its con- 
tents). 

The resemblance to that parent is consequently 
found in the forehead and the “bony parts of the 
face, as the orbits, cheek-bones, jaws, chin and 
teeth, as well as the shape of the organs of sense, 
and the tone of the voice. 


2. Organs Communicated by the Other Parent— 
the Posterior Series. 

THE OTHER PARENT COMMUNICATES THE POS- 
TERIOR PART OF THE HEAD,* THE CEREBEL Sl- 
TUATED WITHIN THE SCULL IMMEDIATELY ABOVE ITS 
JUNCTION WITH THE BACK OF THE NECK, AND THE 
WHOLE OF THE LOCOMOTIVE SYSTEM (the bones, 
ligaments and muscles or fleshy parts). 

The resemblance to that parent is consequently 
found in the backhead, the few more moveable 
parts of the face, as the external ear, under lip, 
lower part of the nose, eyebrows, and the external 
forms of the body, in so far as they depend on the 
muscles, as well as the form of the limbs, even to 
the fingers, toes, nails, &c.+ 


* And, I believe, the lower middle part also. 
+ Several circumstances indicate that, with this series 


ne A a 


oe 


elie eee 


Pee 


152 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


Explanation of the Accompaniment of Particular 
Organs, 
In Each of these Two Series. 


It is clear that the whole nutritive system, 
chiefly contained within the trunk, is naturally con- 
nected with the senses of taste and smell, which 
are the guides to the supply of its wants as to 
food and drink; and therefore the senses contained 
in the face (and consequently the observing facul- 
ties dependent on these senses and contained in the 
forehead) ought to accompany the nutritive system. 

It is equally clear, that the whole locomotive sys- 
tem is naturally connected with the cerebel or or- 
gan of will, on impulses from which all the motions 


of that system depend ; and therefore the backhead 
containing both the organ of will and the posterior 
masses of brain—the seats of desire or aversion by 


of organs, go the skin and its appendages. T'hese have 
evidently much affinity with the osseous system. Not 
only does the skin become horny from pressure, but hair, 
bristles, spines, scales, nails and horns are its productions, 
(the bony and the skinny system often uniting in horns) ; 
and in many inferior animals, as the crustacea, it becomes 
shelly and serves the purpose of bones. If moreover it 
be true that the offspring of a black man and a white 
woman are darker than those of a black woman by a 
white, this must be because, in a cross, the male gives 
the locomotive system, and because the skin and its 
colour go along with it. 


LAW OF SELECTION. 158 


which will is excited, ought to accompany the lo- 
comotive system, not merely in the greater masses 
of the figure, but even in the muscles of the face. 


Nore FoR THE PHYSIOLOGIst.—This invariable 
accompaniment of the CEREBEL by the locomotive 
system, gives further confirmation of the great truth, 
that volition, or the power which actuates the loco- 
motive system, is the function of the cerebel; as 
first pointed out by me in “ Preliminary Lectures ” 
published in 1808, the year before it was noticed 
by Rolando. It also shows the error of those 
who, falsely supposing the posterior columns of the 
spinal cord to be those of sensation, are driven, 
like Sir C. Bell, Dr. Pritchard, M. Foville, &c., to 
regard the cerebel, from which these columns 
proceed, as an “ organ of sensation!” ‘Thus Dr. 
M. Good asserts that “the nervous filaments of 
the muscles are of two kinds, sensific and motifie, 
the former proceeding from the cerebellum, or the 
posterior trunk of the spinal chord to whichit gives 
rise, and the latter from the cerebrum, or the ante- 
rior trunk of the same double chord.” But there 
neither is, nor can be, any other organ of sensa- 
tion than those of the senses. Sensation is not re- 
peated in the encephalon; and it becomes percep-= 
tion in the cerebrum, not in the cerebel. That 
the latter is the organ of volition or will, is proved, 

HO 


154. LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE, 


moreover, by every observation; and it follows that 
the posterior columns are columns of volition.— 
The assertion, that the ANTERIOR COLUMNS are 
those of volition, is no more proved by muscular 
motion ensuing when they are irritated,—than the 
nerves of the skin or of the tips of the fingers, are 
proved to be nerves of volition,, because when 
pricked, these parts are instantly withdrawn. Sen- 
sation, conscious or unconscious, must precede all 
animal motion. Neglect of this truth led Bell and 
Magendie to invert the doctrine, that “ the ANTE- 
RIOR Columns are those of sensation, and the pos- 
terior those of volition,” first published by me in 
“ Archives of Science” in 1809, long before these 
men dreamt of such a thing; as reference to that 
work and to theirs will prove. They and their fol- 
lowers are now in the awkward position of finding 
that the posterior columns, falsely supposed by 
them to be those of sensation, are connected with 
the cerebel, which no ingenuity of theirs will ever 
show not to be the organ of volition! This fool- 
ish position will soon set the matter right.—But I 
will fully expose this in an « Introduction to the 
Nervous System,” in which also I will notice Dr. 
Fletcher’s numerous and liberal criticisms on my 
work of the * Nervous System ;” as well as the new 
discovery of Mr. Solly! vouched to be so by Mr. 
Owen and Mr. Mayo!! and received as such 
by the Royal Society !!! 


LAW OF SELECTION. 


Either Parent may give either Series. 


_ As to the communication of organs from parents 
to progeny, our knowledge has hitherto been inde- 
finite and vague; and my correspondent * * * 

(21, March*) says generally, “ The male and female 
appear to have, on the average, an equal influence 
upon the form of the progeny. Some males transmit 
their likeness to their produce more than others, 
while some females breed similar animals, though 


put to a variety of males.—I am of course not 
speaking of cross breeds.” 


Mr. Knight (16, April) rather more definitively 
says, “ Respecting the influence, comparatively, of 


the male parent and the female one, that of both is 
very nicely balanced, where both parents are of the 


same variety, and similar in size and habit to each 
other.” 

It is a fact established by my observations, that, 
in animals of the same variety, either the male or 
the female parent may give either series of organs 
as above arranged—that is either forehead and or- 
gans of sense, together with the vital and nutritive 
organs, or backhead, together with the locomotive 
organs, as will forthwith appear. 


* Henceforward the dates of communications are thus 
briefly indicated. 


LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


Slight Illustrations. 


These, though imperfect (for I have had no op- 
portunity of personally examining their subjects), 
are selected on account of their being extensively 
known, and therefore readily satisfying the minds 
of most persons as to the truth of the law which 
has just been enunciated. 

The Query, as daughter of the Duke and Du- | 
chess of Kent, resembles her MoTHER generally in 
the anterior series of organs (see page 150), and her 
FATHER generally in the posterior series of organs 
(see page 151).—This is sufficiently indicated in 
Plate 1I., where the slightest comparison will show 
that the Queen has the forehead of her mother, 
which is much superior in perpendicularity and 
capacity to that of her father ; and that, on the con- 
trary, she has his lower features, the nose and 
mouth in particular. Those two points indicate all 
the other organs which are associated in each re- 
spective series, as will further appear. 

Engravings representing the heads of Naro.eon, 
Marta Louisa and their Son at an early period, 
present the precisely opposite case, in which the 
FATHER gives the anterior series of organs, and 
the MOTHER the posterior series of organs.— Plate 
II. shows the son to have the high forehead of the 


ee vam a 


LAW OF SELECTION. 157 


father, and the thicker lips of the mother.—That 
the son has the forehead of the father is proved, 
not only by its capacity, but by the horizontal line 
which, in both, it forms over the orbits and root of 
the nose, so totally different from that of the mo- 
ther; and also by actual measurements. The 
original masks, both that of Napoleon taken after 
death by Dr. Antomarchi at St. Helena, and that 
of his son taken after death at Vienna, being 
in possession of Mr. F. Graves of Pall Mall, he 
has most liberally permitted Mr. F. Howard to 
take sketches from them, and has also permitted 
me to take their dimensions. In both, the space, 
from the depression immediately above and before 


the tragus of the ear, on one side, to the same point 


on the other, is nearly the same, whether the mea- 
sure be carried over the surface which is imme- 
diately above the frontal sinuses in the father, and 
has the corresponding direction in the son, or 
whether it be carried two inches and a half higher 
upon the forehead. In the first situation, its length 
in Napoleon is eleven inches and six eighths, and — 
in his son one eighth more; and in the last situa- 
tion, its length in Napoleon is twelve inches and five 
eighths, and in his son two eighths more.—That 
the son has the developed and sensual lips of the 
mother, all good portraits show; and the mask 
also shows that he has her wide backhead, on 


158 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


which that developement depends. The diameter 
of Napoleon’s head immediately above the ear ap- 
pears to be five inches and seven eighths; and that 
of his son is six inches and three eighths. Thus the 
son’s head vastly enlarges behind; and this, react- 
ing on the forehead, slightly enlarges that, accord- 
ing toa rule which will forthwith be mentioned. 
The narrower, longer and more intensely acting 
head of Napoleon is quite a contrast to that of his 
son, which never would have frightened the anti- 
quated royalty and aristocracy of Europe, even if 
he had not, like his father, recruited their ranks, 

Thus, these slight illustrations not only show 
that each parent communicates a distinct series of 
organs, but that either parent may communicate 
either series. 


Various Corroborations, 
Both as to Man and Animals. 


To show that practical people have been struck 
with the accompaniment of some of the organs, I 
first restate the facts mentioned in the dedication ; 
for dedications are Sometimes neglected by readers. 

I had no sooner announced to Mr. Knight this 
law, and brought before him a family exempli- 
fying its operation, when the vast experience and 
observation which has long placed him at the 
head of scientific breeders, enabled him to state to 


LAW OF SELECTION. 159 


me a practical circumstance both as to man and 
animals, which at once corroborates every portion 
of the law. 

He stated that if, in woman, he were shown 
merely a face, short and round, full in the region of 
the forehead, and having what are commonly called 
chubby cheeks, but contracted and fine in the nose 
and mouth, he would unhesitatingly predict the 
trunk to be wide and capacious, and the limbs to 
taper thence to their extremities; and so unfailing 
was this indication also in regard to inferior ani- 
mals, that if, in adjudging a prize, there were 
brought before him an apparently well-fed animal 
of opposite form, or having a long and slender 
head, he would suspect it to be crammed for 
show, and, as such, should be disposed to re- 
ject it.* 

In this, his vast experience discovered a practi- 
cal fact independent of all theory—a fact constitut- 


ing an unerring guide in the most important de- 
cisions of husbandry—a fact of immense extent 


and bearing in its various relations. 

His ready prediction of the capacity of the trunk 
from a view merely of the forehead and face— 
these anterior parts, is a proof of so much of the 
law as states that, with the form of the forehead and 


* Mr. Knight (22, May) says, “The same remark re- 
specting long and slender heads and faces, applies alike to 
horses, sheep, hogs,” &c., 


Sore 


ST me 


160 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE, 


face, goes that of the nutritive organs contained in 
the trunk, for to these its capacity is adapted. 

Regarded, moreover, even thus far, it leaves it 
as probable, that the remainder of the law is equally 
well founded, namely that, with the form of the 
backhead and cerebel—these posterior parts, goes 
that of the locomotive organs composing the rest 
of the body. 

His beautiful observation, however, does much 
more than render this remainder of the law a mere 
probability.—I have shown, in this work, that, 
with the dimensions of the backhead and cerebel, 
go those of the locomotive system, and conse- 
quently those of the more muscular and moveable 
parts of the face, the mouth and nose. The short- 
ness and fineness, therefore, of the mouth and 
nose, mentioned in his observation, being conco- 
mitant effects of the same cause with the tapering 
limbs, become as sure an indication, not merely of 
such limbs, but of the small backhead and cerebel, 
as the short and round face with full forehead, 
were of the wide and capacious trunk. Thus, that 
observation confirms also the remainder of the law. 

In a letter subsequent to that time (22, May), 
Mr. Knight says, « Respecting the connexion be- 
tween short faces and plump bodies, amongst our 
cultivated animals, as you thought the fact impor- 
'\ tant in support of some’ of your opinions, I think it 


LAW OF SELECTION. 161 


will be well to cite the human species as an 
example; for no one can doubt that girls with short 
broad faces have more plump bodies, than those 
with slender oval faces, aquiline noses, &c. 

«“ A dog having a long slender head and nose, 
with the body of a bull-dog, would be a strange 
looking animal, nothing similar to which has, I 
believe, ever existed, and such a form of animal 
could not be obtained unless by long successive at- 
tention, through a great many generations, if it 
could at all be obtained, and, if it could be ob- 
tained, it would not be as hardy constitutionally as 
the ordinary bull-dog. Equal difficulty would oc- 
cur in forming a breed of dogs with the body of 
the greyhound and the head of the bull-dog. 

Mr. Knight, however, observes, that, among do- 
mesticated animals, he “ never witnessed any differ- 
ence in the influence of the male or of the female 
parent upon the forms of the heads of the off- 
spring.”—The obvious reason of this is, that in 
horses, cattle and sheep, the form of the back- 
head and cerebel is hid by the great transverse 
ridge of the occipital bone, to which the large mus- 
cles which raise the head are attached; by these 
muscles themselves; and by the elastic ligament 
(ligamentum nuchz), which, without voluntary ef- 
fort, assists the muscles in maintaining the position 
of the neck: in man, on the contrary, owing to his 


162 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


upright position, the head is greatly supported by 
resting on the vertebral column ; large ridges, 
muscles and ligaments are not required; and the 
projection caused by the backhead and cerebel is 
perfectly obvious. Horses, cattle and sheep, 
therefore, show only the forehead and face; and 
their whole head consequently seems to go, undi- 
vided, along with the vital organs, in the trunk of 
the body. 

Concealed, however, though the backhead is in 
these animals, we have proof of its various develope- 
ments, in the various developements of the mus- 
cular system, with which the former must always 
correspond, and which at all events show what 
each parent communicates. 

I should here observe that, in order to express the 
similarity between progeny and one of their parents, 
breeders often say “they have the same generalshape 
or character.” Now, as this general shape or cha- 
racter is always caused by the skeleton and locomo- 
tive system generally, I have often, to avoid all dif- 
ficulty, asked merely « Which parent gives the 
general shape or character ?” Being thus informed 
as to which parent gives the locomotive system or 
posterior series of organs: generally, and knowing 
that the other parent always gives the vital system 
or anterior series of organs generally, the reply to 
that question answers every purpose. 


LAW OF SELECTION. 168 


Those of whom inquiries are made, are thus 
saved the trouble of attending to the anterior 
series of organs, which are less easily distinguished 
by all who begin such observations. Still, it is well 
to explain at least that the form of the face and 
the relative capacity of the trunk indicate those of 
the sensitive and vital systems given by the parent 
who does not give the shape. 

Enlightened persons readily see this. Thus, to 
prevent mistake, my correspondent * * * (11, 
January), using his own terms, says, ‘ I consider 
‘locomotive’ to imply shape—bone and muscle, 


and ‘vital’ to imply the organs on which strength 
or weakness of constitution, disposition to fatten, 


&e., depend.”* 

Accordingly, in addressing to that correspon- 
dent the important question which is now under 
consideration —“ When the male and female 
parent are of the same breed, does it not appear 
that either may give the locomotive system, the 
general shape or character to the progeny ?”—his 
answer (and it is a very important one) was 
“yrs. But the colour usually depends upon the 
male.” 

To show further that either parent among do- 
mesticated animals, may give either series of 


* That is the intestines, heart, blood-vessels—in short, 
all the tubular organs, as explained in the Preliminary. 


sree 


164 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


organs, I may quote the account of the ancon 
sheep. 

An ewe produced a male lamb of singular pro- 
portion and appearance. His offspring, by other 
ewes, had, in many instances, the Same characters 
with himself. These were shortness of the limbs * 
and length of the body, so that the breed was 
called the otter breed, from being compared to 
that animal. The fore-limbs were also crooked, so 
as to give them in one part the appearance of an 
, elbow, and hence the name ancon (from aycw») was 
given to this kind of sheep. They were propa- 
gated in consequence of being less able to jump 
over fences, « They can neither run nor jump 
like other sheep. They are more infirm in their 
organic construction as well as more awkward in 
their gait, having their fore-legs always crooked, 
and their feet turned inwards when they walk, 

“& When both parents are of the otter or ancon 
breed, their descendants inherit their peculiar ap- 
pearance and proportions of form. I have heard 
but of one questionable case of a contrary nature. 
—When an ancon ewe is impregnated by a com- 
mon ram, the increase resembles wholly either the 


* Sir Everard Home found that the bone of the fore. 
leg in one of these Sheep was larger, but not so long as 
that of a much smaller Welsh sheep. 


LAW OF SELECTION. 165 


ewe or the ram.* The increase of a common ewe, 


impregnated by an ancon ram, follows entirely [in 
regard to shape of course] the one or the other, 
without blending any of the distinguishing and 
essential peculiarities of both. ; 

_ “ Frequent instances have happened where com- 
mon ewes have had twins by ancon rams; when 
one exhibited the complete marks and features of 
the ewe, the other of the ram. The contrast has 
been rendered singularly striking when one short- 
legged and one long-legged lamb, produced at a 


birth, have been seen sucking the dam at the same 
time. 


As the short and crooked legs, or those of oppo- 
site form, here indicate the parent giving the loco- 
motive system, it is evident that one of the twins 
derived it from one parent, and the other twin 
from the other parent,—the parent not giving it, 
doubtless communicating, in each case, the vital 
or nutritive system. 


Mode of verifying this Law. 
By examining Parents and Children. 
Every observer has the power of verifying these 
facts in nature. 


* These last assertions, if not applied to shape alone, 
are evidently the results of imperfect observation. There 
are no instances of that kind in nature. 


166 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


With this view, the following scheme of the more 
or less dependent organs may be drawn out in two 
columns, over one of which may be written the 
word ‘ Mother,’ and over the other the word 
‘ Father.’ 

A copy of this scheme may be used in examin- 
ing each child; and the organs of the father and 
mother respectively, which the child does not pos- 
sess, may be crossed out, so that, in the two 
columns, each part in general remains but once 
named. 


NAME OR INITIALS OF CHILD. 


PARTS LIKE THOSE OF THE PARTS LIKE THOSE OF THE 
MOTHER. FATHER. 


Forehead. Forehead. 
Upper Middle Partof Head. Upper Middle Part of Head. 


Bony Parts of Face. 

Teeth. 

Digestive System, &c. 

Form of Eyes. 

Eyebrows. 

Middle of Nose. 

Point of Nose. 

Upper Lip. 

Under Lip. 

Ears. 

Backhead. 

Under Middle Part 
Head.* 


Bony Parts of Face. 
Teeth. 

Digestive System, &e. 
Form of Eyes. 
Eyebrows. 

Middle of Nose. 
Point of Nose. 
Upper Lip. 

Under Lip. 

Ears. i 
Backhead. 


of Under Middle Part of 


Head. 


* That is, over the ears and towards the temples. 


LAW OF SELECTION. 167 


PARTS LIKE THOSE OF THE PARTS LIKE THOSE OF THE 
MOTHER. FATHER. 


Glabel or Frontal Sinuses. Glabel or Frontal Sinuses. 
Chest. Chest. 

Limbs. Limbs. 

Fingers, Toes, Nails. Fingers, Toes, Nails. 


N.B. The parts of which the names are printed 
in italics are variable by the cerebel or organ of the 
will influencing the muscles more or less connected 
with them. 

In examining a family, it is right to prefer the 
parents,—to understand first the organization of 
the mother in ail the points mentioned in the 
columns; 2ly, to understand that of the father in 


these points; Sly, to compare each of these points 
in one parent with the corresponding one in the 
other; 4ly, to mark particularly the greatest dif- 
ferences between them—making allowance for the 


modifications always caused by difference of sex 
and age; 5ly, to compare each corresponding 
point in the parent and child who appear to be the 
likest to each other, making the same allowance ; 
6ly, to look in the other parent for the points 
which do not correspond in the first, still making 
that allowance; 7ly, to bear in mind the influ- 
ence which the more or less powerful action of 
each organ produces in another; Sly, to examine 


Le er 


eras 


enan ow renee wr a ee eee 


enone oe aa 
(a nt RE 


168 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


the other children in the same way; 9ly, not to 
be surprised if disagreements which are irrecon- 
cileable with the father’s organization should some- 
times occur. 

As a GENERAL GUIDE IN SUCH OBSERVATIONS, it 
may be here noticed, that when the forehead and, 
considered generally, the face viewed in front, re- 
semble one parent, the whole head viewed in pro- 
file will furnish the points of resemblance to the 
other parent, namely the backhead, the ear, the 
under lip, &c. The front view best displays the 
observing faculties; the profile view, the active 
ones. 

Plates III. and IV. exhibit these remblances 
more in detail than in the previous illustrations. 
They exhibit a father, mother and two sons, both in 
front and in profile; and, if carefully examined in 
both these views, they show one son to have the 
forehead of the father and the mouth of the mother, 
while the other son has the forehead of the mother 
with the mouth of the father ; the other parts con- 
nected with these respectively, in all points corres- 
ponding. 


Further Explanation of the Influence 
of the Posterior Series of Organs upon the 
Anterior Ones, and vice versd. 


In the parent who gives the anterior series of or- 


a x Ns linemen A 


Sito a cate eee 


LAW OF SELECTION. 169 


gans—the forehead, osseous face, eyes, &c., there is 
always a tendency to give even the parts which are 
marked as variable in the preceding table—the 
eyebrows, lower part of the nose, mouth, &c., be- 
cause these belong to the organs of sense, which, 
as strictly such, and not as influenced by muscular 


action, are a most important portion of the anterior 
series. This tendency of these variable parts to 
conform to the more permanent anterior organs 


may, indeed, be seen in almost every instance; and 
some of them are often altogether conformable. 

As, however, these variable parts belong not 
merely to the organs of sense as such, but have 
also muscles entering into their composition, and 
are so far organs, not of sense or impression, but of 
expression, their forms become altered by this 
cause. Hence alone their variability, and the fact 
that their forms are often partly traceable to the 
parent giving the anterior organs, and partly to the 
parent giving the posterior ones. 

It does not follow, however, that when one of 
these variable parts is thus influenced by the ac- 
tion of the cerebel or organ of the will, all are so 
influenced. The cerebel consists of various parts, 
called lobes, of which each appears to exert a spe- 
cific action; and in that way it probably is, that 
one or two of the variable parts may be modified 

I 


SS a 


ae 


170 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


by it, while the rest conform to those of the parent 
giving the anterior organs. ‘Thus either the eye- 
brows, or the lower part of the nose, or the under 
lip, may alone be altered. 


Plates V. and VI. illustrate the influences now 
described. They exhibit a father, mother and two 
daughters, both in front and in profile; and, like 
the last plates, they show one child to have the 
forehead of the father, and the other to have the 
forehead of the mother. But, as the nose of the 
father is strongly marked, it is communicated to 
both children; and as the mouth of the mother is 
more developed, it is similarly communicated, as is 
well seen in the profiles.— These heads, moreover, 
show another interesting circumstance, namely, that 
the larger backhead of the mother causes an in- , 
creased developement of the head and of the fore- 
head in particular, in one daughter ; while the 
smaller backhead of the fatherca uses a diminished 
developement of the head and of the forehead in 
particular, in the other daughter. Hence one of 
these heads is vastly larger than the other. So 
powerful is the reaction of the backhead upon the 
forehead, as will afterwards be further shown. 

This is the place to mention that, under all 
these changes, certain organs seem to go together, 
or to correspond in their forms. Thus I have often 


a E 


LAW OF SELECTION. 171 


observed thick lips to be accompanied by thick or 
turned-in edges of the ears: the negro has both 
of these parts very thick; the monkey, both very 
thin. The forms of the nose and eyes appear also 
in some degree to correspond. Nor are these cor- 
respondences unaccountable, since I have shown, in 
my work on Tue Nervous System, that the nose 
and eyes are more especially connected with emo- 
tion; and the mouth and ears, with passion. 

As the cerebel thus exerts an influence over the 
movable parts of the anterior series of organs, so 
one of the anterior organs influences the action of 
the muscles. 


It is remarkable, that the parent who gives the 
locomotive system does not give the carriage and 
the manner of walking. These are always given by - 
the other parent, who gives the organs of sense. 
Sensation would appear to be always the regulator 
of motion; and it appears to be the eyes in parti- 
cular, which execute that function. 

A very simple proof of this is obtained by shut- 
ting the eyes while we stand erect: the body is 
immediately, felt to vacillate and to be in perpetual 


danger of losing its balance, or rather to require 

distinct efforts to recover it; whereas, the moment 

the eyes are again opened, neither does vacillation 

occur, nor is correction necessary. It is wor- 
ry 


172 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


thy of remark that, when the eyes are closed, the 
same vacillation or loss of muscular control is the 
precursor of sleep. 


Cause of the Division of the Nervous or Thinking 
System. 


ee 


It is remarkable that, in the propagation of re- 
semblance from parents to progeny, the thinking 


organs should be divided ;—one parent giving one 
portion, namely those of sensation and observation, 
—and the other parent giving the other portion, 
namely those of passion and volition,—while the 
intermediate middle part is also divided. Thus, to 
re-state the law in another and briefer form, THE 
THINKING ORGANS ARE, IN EQUAL AND DISTINCT 
PORTIONS, DERIVED FROM BOTH PARENTS; WHILE 


ONE GIVES THE WHOLE OF THE NUTRITIVE, AND THE 
OTHER THE WHOLE OF THE LOCOMOTIVE ORGANS. 

A little reflection explains the cause of this pe- 
culiar DIVISION OF THE THINKING SYSTEM, as well 
as this dependence of the nutritive and locomotive 
systems. 

It is evident that, in all the voluntary acts of 
animals, the thinking system must take the lead, 
and that, in the act of reproduction, they are also 
functions of that system—passion and volition, 
which must excite the locomotive system to fulfil the 


LAW OF SELECTION. 3 


purposes of the nutritive system.— Hence, in re- 
production, the apparent predominance of the 


thinking system. 

It is also evident that, in all voluntary acts in 
which two sexes are engaged, two thinking systems 
are involved; and, as the first portion of the think- 
ing system, sensation and observation, is passive or 
dependent on impression, and the last portion, pas- 
sion and volition, active and exciting to locomotion, 
it is evident that, in the act of reproduction, one or 
other sex will always be relatively passive, and the 
other relatively active.— Hence the progeny will 
receive, from one parent, the organization on which, 
in the thinking system, sensation and observation 
depend, and from the other, that on which passion 
and volition depend; for the very term reproduc- 
tion implies the communication of similar organs 
and functions, and therefore of the most energetic 
and characteristic ones. 

Thus the communication of mind, and of its 
most distinguishing or peculiar characteristics to 
progeny, evidently depends on mind, and the rela- 
tive predominance of its two great divisions in 
parents ; and, on each of these again, depend the 
locomotive system and the vital, respectively. 

As to the connection of mental faculties with ex- 
ternal forms, I may observe that, with the forms of 
the organs of sense and the forehead, appear to go 
the qualities which characterise not only the sense 


SSS 


ees 


]74 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


of sight, smell, taste, &c., but the observing, imitat- 
ing, acquiring and other faculties; and that, with 
the backhead and cerebel, appear to go the pas- 
sions, acts of the will, appetites, &e. 


Hypothesis as to the Increased Energy of that 
System. 


There is certainly some reason to suppose that 


whatever increases the ardour of passion invigorates 
the progeny. 

It is a popular notion “ that natural children,” as 
they are called, have often more genius or ability 
than those who should, I suppose, be called artifi- 
cial ones; and this is ascribed to the circumstance, 
that they are commonly produced by a more active 
as well as ardent love, and that the invention of 
their parents, being continually employed in con- 
cealing their passion from those who might con- 
demn it, in deceiving jealousy, and in triumphing 
over obstacles, they naturally transmit to their 
progeny a portion of the talents to which they thus 
owe their existence. It is, at the same time, pro- 
bable, that their ‘superiority must, in many in- 


~ stances, be attributed partly to the mental exertion 


that their want of support imposes upon them even 
from early years. 

Such were the origin and education of several of 
the ancient heroes, said consequently to be the oft- 
spring of gods—Hercules, Theseus, Achilles, Ro- 


LAW OF SELECTION. 175 


mulus, and, in modern times, of Galileo, Erasmus, 
and a multitude of great men.—For the same rea- 
son, younger brothers, being unprovided for, are 


more generally distinguished by ability. 


The Directions of its Functions Hereditary. 


Galen says, “ Manners depend on tempera- 
ments ;” and it is generally felt that habits and pur- 
suits long followed in families, develope the organs 
which they employ. . 

It has even been observed, that the child ofa | 
civilized European will acquire knowledge more | 
readily than the offspring of an American savage ; | 
while it is known that such offspring, though | 
brought up from a very early age in the colleges of | 
the United States, exhibit an almost irresistible de- 
sire to return to the forests, and recommence the 
wandering life. On the other hand, we are told 
that, in the voyage up the Missouri by Clarke and 
Lewis, one of the company was the son of an In- 
dian woman who had married a Frenchman, and 
that this half Indian acquired the power of tracing 
animals through the trackless wood to any extent, 
—which his companions could not acquire. 

It is also known that the whelps of well-trained 
dogs are, almost at birth, more fitted for sporting 
purposes than others. The most extraordinary and 
curious observations of this kind have been made 


176 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


by Mr. Knight, who, in a Paper read to the Royal 
Society at one of its last meetings, showed, that 
the communicated powers were not of a vague or 
general kind, but that any particular art or trick 
acquired by these animals, was readily practised by 
their progeny, without the slightest instruction. 

It was impossible to hear that interesting Paper 
read, without being deeply impressed by it. Ac- 
cordingly, in taking a long walk afterwards for 
the purpose of reflecting on the subject, it for- 
cibly struck: me, that the better education of 
women was of much greater importance to their 
progeny than is commonly imagined; and, in 
calling on Sir Anthony Carlisle, on my return, 


to speak of the Paper and its suggestions, he 


mentioned to me a very striking corroboration of 
this conclusion. 

He observed that, many years since, an old 
schoolmaster had told him, that, in the course of 
his personal experience, he had observed a remark- 
able difference in the Capacities of children for 
learning, which was connected with the education 
and aptitudes of their parents; that the children of 
people accustomed to arithmetic learned figures 
quicker than those of differently educated persons, 
while the children of classic scholars more easily 
learned Latin and Greek; and that, notwithstand- 
ing a few striking exceptions, the natural dulness 


LAW OF SELECTION. 177 


of children born of uneducated parents was pro- 
verbial. 7 

Writing afterwards to Mr. Knight as to what 
appeared to be the striking and important applica- 
bilities of his Paper, he, in his reply (28, No- 
vember), and in a subsequent letter (21, Decem- 
ber), favoured me with the following illustrative 
remarks :— 

“I, seventy years ago, heard an old schoolmaster 
remark, in speaking of my late brother’s great fa- 
cility of learning languages,* that, ‘in fifty years’ ex- 
perience, he had never seen a child of wholly illite- 
rate parentage and ancestry (such being at that 
time very abundant) who could learn languages; 


meaning, of course, Latin and Greek. 

“ Being with a friend, about thirty years ago, - 
shooting grouse upon a Welsh mountain, we were 
joined by a native of the country, who exhibited, 
with the manners and character of a buffoon, very 
great powers of combining ideas, and who pos- 


sessed a good deal of a kind of irregular and unin- 
structed wit. T pointed out to my friend the dif- 
ference between him and the other peasants, and 
observed that, on inquiry, he would prove to be the 
son of an educated male parent. It proved, upon 
inquiring, that he was a gentleman’s bastard. 


* The distinguished Mr. Payne Knight is here alluded 
to. 
I5 


178 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


« Being in my parish church, about ten years ago, 
a little girl, in repeating her catechism, got through 
her part in less than half the time that her compa- 
nions did, and without missing, or hesitating about, 
a single word. She was wholly unknown to me; 
but I whispered to Mrs. Knight, «That girl is a 
gentleman’s natural daughter ;” and so she proved 
to be. 

“ The following circumstance, which is at least 
very singular, leads me to suspect that the kind of 
language used by any people through many succes- 
sive generations, might change and modify the or- 
gans of speech, though not to an extent cog- 
nizable by the anatomist. A celebrated French 
civil engineer, M. Polonceau, visited me some 
years ago, bringing with him a young French gen- 
tleman, who spoke English eloquently, and per- 
fectly like an Englishman, though he had been in 
England only two years, and, as he assured me, 
knew nothing of the language previously, nor had 
ever heard it spoken. I asked him whether he 
could pronounce the English name Thistlethwaite, 
and he instantly pronounced it most distinctly and 
perfectly. The next day, when talking of other 
matters, he said that he had some Irish relations ; 
and it appeared that his grandmother, on the fe- 
male side, whom he had never seen, was an 
Irishwoman. Hence arose, I do not at all doubt, 


LAW OF SELECTION. 179 


his power of so readily pronouncing the word I had 
prescribed. A French gentleman at Paris boasted 
to me that he could pronounce correctly any 
English word. I proposed Thistlethwaite to him, 
when, instead of trying, he exclaimed, ‘ Ah bar- 
bare !’”—By the by, the barbarism is in the in- 
ability to pronounce the English th—the Greek 0! 

« I believe,” adds Mr. Knight, in a most inte- 
resting anecdote, “that most of the experiments in 
breeding, which have been accurately made and 
accurately reported, have been made either by Sir 
John Sebright or by myself; and it is somewhat 
singular that we both descend from the same grand- 
father, his mother having been a daughter of my 
father’s brother. We were, however, unacquainted 


in early life, and neither of us was influenced in 
any degree by the other in our pursuits. 

« It is, T think, important that the minds of the 
ancestry should have been exercised in some way ; 
and I think the hereditary powers will generally 
be found best calculated to do that which the 


parents, through successive generations, have done. 
The offspring of a family of American or Australian 
savages, would more readily acquire the power of 
tracing the steps of an animal in a trackless forest, 
than the child of an educated English family would 
do. The employment of weaving, where the threads 
are made to cross each other, so as to present the 


180 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


forms and colours of flowers, would, I conceive, 
prepare the mind of the offspring even for studying 
mathematics, &e. 

Mr. Knight’s observation (29, May) remark- 
ably corroborates this first law, even as to the dis- 
tribution of the mind of parents to progeny. He 
observes, that “when the male and female parent 
are of the same species and same variety, each 
parent has an equal influence upon the offspring 
as to temper, sagacity, &c., and in giving hereditary 
propensities, 


Explanation of the Differences in the Features of 
Children, who yet resemble the same Parent. 


It is obviously because these two fundamental 
distinctions of mind and sex thus depend upon 
totally different causes, that they are found to be 
variously combined and intermixed in progeny. 

Hence arise THE FOUR SIMPLEST COMBINATIONS 
OF CHARACTER in the children of one family :—the 
paternal organs of sensation and observation with 
the male sex,—the maternal organs of sensation 
and observation with the female sex,—the paternal 
organs of passion, volition, &c., with the male Sex, 
—the maternal organs of passion, volition, &c., with 
the female sex. . 

When, moreover, it is considered how much of 
modification is caused by the combination of 
functions, as in the case of different sexes with 


LAW OF SELECTION. 18] 


similar features, it will easily be seen to what va- 
riety of aspect, in the same family, this must 
lead. | 

But it is necessary I should explain the causes of 
the more minute differences which we observe in 
the features of the children who present these 
general resemblances to the same parent. 

For some previous vague remarks, then, I would 
substitute a more definite doctrine; and that doc- 
trine as to the details of resemblance is even es- 
sential to establish the sufficiency of this first law 
in its most minute applications. 

A lady one day said to me, “ Jn my own chil- 
dren, I see an illustration of the general truth of 
your law: some of them resemble me in forehead, 
osseous face, organs of sense, &¢., and their father 
im backhead and figure ; but why do those who 
resemble me in face differ somewhat from each 
other in particular organs of sense and fea- 
tures 2” 

The question was rational and clever. A regard 
for propriety prevented my giving an explicit an- 
swer: I could only say, “ Observe that all these 
differences in features are mere modifications of 
your own,—such modifications as you yourself 
might assume under the influence of different emo- 
tions,—such modifications as you actually have 
assumed, and therefore have, in these very in- 
stances, communicated.” 


182 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


To explain this most important and interesting 
point more methodically and in detail.—The reader 
has seen that organization and function are com- 
municated from parents to progeny; he knows 
| that each distinct organization must produce func- 

tion equally distinct; he knows that function 
always reacts on organization, as is shown by the 
improved forms which well-directed exercise pro- 
duces on one hand, and by the deteriorations which 
labour causes on the other; he has seen that the 
practice of performing certain acts in parents, 
gives a distinct tendency to the performance of 
these acts in progeny; he knows, in short, that 
organization and function in the parent, are the 
real and only causes of organization and function in 
the child. Can he then doubt that the peculiar state 
of the organization, and the peculiar exercise of 
every function, at the moment of erotic orgasm, must 
exert the most powerful, the most undivided in- 
fluence over the organization and function of the 
delicate, susceptible and plastic ens, then and by 
these very acts, called into existence ? 

The act then by which a new being is called 
into existence is far more momentous, even in its 
most minute details, than has yet been imagined. 
It has been, and it will further be seen, that, when, 
in one parent, sensibility exceeds volition in a 
greater degree than in the other, that parent 


LAW OF SELECTION. 183 


communicates the anterior series of organs—the 
organs of sense, the anterior part of the brain, and 
the vital system. On the contrary, when in one pa- 
rent, volition exceeds sensibility in a greater degree 
than in the other, that parent communicates the 


posterior series of organs—the cerebel and the 
muscular system. * 


Nor can the matter stop here: if the organiza- 
tion and function of the parent are the real and 
only causes of the organization and function of 
the child, then must they be so, not in gene- 
ralities (for these are mere acts of the mind), 
but in the minutest details. The state and 
the act of each organ of sense in the parent 


conferring these, must stamp the character of 
each in the progeny—nay, their expression in 
the parent must more or less become their charac- 
ter in the progeny, for the influence is then that 


* But it may easily be that, in one parent, both sensa- 
tion and volition shall exceed in intensity these functions 
in the other parent?—Yes: but then one of these func- 
tions—either sensation or volition—will, more than the 
other, exceed the corresponding function of the other 
parent ; that predominant function will consequently be 
given by the parent exercising it ; in him, the subordi- 
nate function will accordingly be neutralised, for he can- 
not give a function and its opposite, and the feebler func- 


tion will therefore remain to be given by the other 
parent. 


184 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


of a moment, it cannot be extended, and that 
which is temporary in one must become more or 
less permanent in the other. We can no longer 
wonder, then, that several children having the or- 
gans of sense either of the mother or of the father, 
should differ as to each of these and as to every fea- 


ture, according to the general activity and the par- 
ticular action of each at the moment of creative 
power. 

The senses connected with intellect, the eye 
and the ear, or those connected chiefly with life, 
may be employed. In softened light, the delighted 
eye may gaze over beautiful contours and colours ; 
or, these excluded, the ear may drink in the soft 
and sweet music of the voice; or, in darkness and 
silence, the touch may wander over voluptuous 
forms.—But the reader must illustrate for himself 
the mode in which each sense may be exclusively 
called into action. 

Can it be supposed, then, to matter little whether 
the new being be the product and the personification 
of intellectual, or of mere sensual pleasure! or 
whether that pleasure be one of gentle emotion, or 
of burning passion ! 

According, then, to the state and action of these 
organs in the parent, must each be feeble, moderate, 
or greatly developed, faintly outlined, delicate, or 
coarse, in the progeny. Ampler elements of mo- 


LAW OF SELECTION. 185 


dification and diversity even of the same organs 
cannot exist. And these observations apply to 
every organ, as well as to those of the senses. 

Thus, I think, are explained all the diversities 
in the forms of progeny. 

I must here remark, that while the parents give 
character and capability of expression, the events 
of life, pleasurable or painful impressions, and 
gentle or violent passions, greatly modify expres- 
sion. In comparing the heads of progeny with 


parents, the latter is of subordinate consequence. 


Importance of this Law. 


Now, as on the size, form and proportion of 
the various organs, depend their functions, THE 
IMPORTANCE OF THE FIRST LAW, is immense, 
whether we regard intermarriages, and that immu- 
nity from mental or bodily disease which, when 
well directed, they may insure,—or the education 
of children in conformity with their faculties,—or 
the employment of men in society,—or ad- 
vantageous breeding among domesticated ani- 
mals. 

To illustrate the importance of this law as re- 
gards intermarriages among mankind, and espe- 
cially as regards insanity among the opulent classes, 
the causes of that disease which are perpetually 
operating, and those of mental debility, may first 


186 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE, 


be noticed. Ido this from a previous and little 
known work of my own. 

Genius, which is whetted by adversity, soon be- 
comes blunt, in the bosom of ease ; and mediocrity 
of talent, when so circumstanced, becomes ab- 
solute imbecility. Men entitled, by the mere 
accident of birth, to a monopoly of honours and 
indulgences, need make no effort to obtain them. 
Such trouble is unnecessary; and not one in ten 
thousand bestows it. Intellectual power, there- 
fore, is gradually lost, and the man is at last utterly 
debased. 

All history, accordingly, shows that those 
princes, nobles, &c., who have gained the admira- 


tion of mankind, have almost always either been 
the first of their race who reached that rank of so- 


ciety, or have suffered from an adverse fortune, 
which elevated rank cannot always prevent; and 
that, as uniformly, the children of these persons, 
who were born to honours, affluence and indul- 
gence, have been far their inferiors in intellectual 
attainment. 

As to ancient times, we know, that some of the 
greatest men in Greece were of the obscurest 
origin, and that foreign female slaves gave birth to 
many of them. A Carian was the mother of 
Themistocles; a Scythian was that of Demos- 
thenes; and a Thracian gave birth to Iphicrates 


LAW OF SELECTION. 187 


and Timotheus! On the other hand, it is certain, 
that the children of Socrates and of Pericles were 
destined to stupidity and obscurity ! 

De Pauw has stated, that many observations re- 
specting Spain and Portugal attest, that the noble 
families there are constantly the most stupid; and 
he observes that those of other countries would 
be added, if examined with equal attention. 
Indeed, we every day see, that the descendants 
of the most illustrious men present, in „almost 
every instance, the most pitiable degeneracy of cha- 
racter. 

The absence of freedom in intermarriages con- 
tributes greatly to enhance these causes of degene- 


racy; for if weak people intermarry, it can lead 
only to an accumulation and increase of weakness 


and worthlessness. 

This cause affects even nations, when they cease 
to intermarry with their neighbours. Of this, the 
most remarkable examples are the castes of India, 
the Gipsies, and the Jews. The cause and the 
consequent degradation are alike common to all of 
these. 

It has now been seen that where one parent 
communicates to a child the form of the face gene- 
rally and the forehead, the other will be found to 
communicate the form of the posterior part of the 
head; and, while the child has the observing facul- 


188 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE, 


ties of the former, it will be found to have the rea- 
soning faculties and the passions of the latter. 

A moment’s reflection will show, therefore, that 
the proportion which exists between these parts in 
the heads of parents, is nearly decisive of the cha- 
racter of their progeny; and that, if these parts be 
feeble in both parents, they must also be so in the 
offspring. And hence the perpetually increasing 
degeneracy of aristocratic families, in whom none 
of the intellectual organs are improved and 
strengthened by incessant action, but, on the con- 
trary, dwindle away, as do all bodily organs, by en- 
tire inactivity. 

As to kings in particular, their intellectual fa- 
culties are so low, as always to border on fa- 
tuity. 

That fatuity has, in all ages, been the disease of 
hereditary royalty and ancient dynasty, the most 
superficial observer must allow. This is a truth of 
such magnitude and importance, that, to the inte- 
rests of political philosophy, its discussion is due, 
unfettered by all temporary and trivial considera- 
tions. If the fact be doubted by any of my readers, 
I may point out to them the cases of George IIL, 
Paul of Russia, the late sovereigns of Denmark, 
and Portugal, the deposed King of Sweden, &e. 
—a fourth or fifth of the kings then occupying the 
thrones of Europe! and consequently a proportion 


LAW OF SELECTION. 189 


of mental disease far greater than can be exemplified 
in any rank of society. 

I would not scoff at human misery, either 
mental or corporeal; nothing can possibly be 
more abhorrent to my feelings; I mention this 
subject in pity, not in scorn. But if, on consi- 
deration, it appear that there is any truth in the 
allegation—nay, if it be found that even mental 
imbecility, or merely a degree of intellectual feeble- 
ness, or indeed anything like a want of the fair 
proportion of mind seen in other ranks, is at all 
characteristic of that which some deem the highest 
rank in society—then do we owe the sober discus- 
sion of that question at once to the interests of that 
rank, and to those of philosophical inquiry. 

It appears that nature has conferred no good 
on man unqualified by ill. It even appears, 
that the greatest good is generally chequered by 
the greatest ills, and that the highest rank in so- 
ciety, if good it can be called, is invested with the 
most appalling dangers. Even a moment’s as- 
sumption of that rank seems to bring with it at- 
tendant evils. That light heads should be easily 
turned, is not wonderful; but that that of Bona- 
parte, for example’s sake, which contained much 
more brain than that of any European king, and 
more intellectual power than all of them—that 
such a head should have been turned by the posses- 


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190 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE, 


sion of power, is a striking illustration of the pre- 
ceding remark. 

When Napoleon’s senators abandoned him and 
his fortunes, and in a memorable document com- 
plained ofhis despotism, he acknowledged it as can- 
didly, as he ascribed it justly, to the spell of their 
incessant flatteries.—Here, thén, we approach the 
very cause of that fatuity from which it is so diffi- 
cult to separate kingly power: a state unnaturally 
elevated above all fellow men—the anticipated 
supply of every want which that state commands— 
the foretaste of every pleasure ere it is desired— 
the consequent inutility of every mental effort—the 
ennui which must ensue—the pride, fastidiousness, 
and morbid irritability in which the mind is con- 
sequently plunged—the influence of these upon at- 
tendants—the scarcely evitable reaction of their 
minds in every supple and conciliating device, 
in every artful and debasing flattery — the ab- 
sence of all sincerity—the absolute proscription of 
simple and manly truth—the adoption of gaudy 
pageantry, which occupies the eye and ear, but 
touches not the heart or the mind—the heartless- 
ness, the coldness, the worthlessness of such a 
state. Such is the precise succession of those cir- 
cumstances which, sooner or later, annihilate mind 
in hereditary royalty and ancient dynasty. 

From this degradation of mind may escape the 


LAW OF SELECTION. 19] 


founder of a dynasty, who is agitated by plans of 
succession, or acts of usurpation, or schemes of 
conquest; and so also may the prince on whom 
misfortune frowns; but it is true, that in general 
the very next successor of such a princeis an im- 
becile, precisely because the achievements of his 
predecessors seem to have rendered it unnecessary 
for him to think. 

In order satisfactorily to explain the corporeal 
and physiognomical changes that the circumstances 
in which they are placed produce in princes, we 
must observe, that the more any of the organs of 
the body are employed, the more they are deve- 
loped in size, ‘Thus, with regard to the muscles or 
organs of acting, incessant use greatly enlarges the 
limbs of porters, the calves of dancing-masters, the 
arms of sailors, the wrists of postilions, all the 
muscles of one side in fencers, &c.; and long con- 
tinued inaction causes them to become feeble, and 
to dwindle away. Just so with regard to the 
brain or organ of thinking—incessant use causes its 
expansion; and inaction either retards its growth, 
or produces its diminution ; and, in the latter case, 
though the whole head may not seem to grow less, 


the skull becomes thicker: hence perhaps the cir- 
cumstance, that the skulls of fatuitous persons, who 
die in the hospitals, are often found to be remark- 
ably thick. 


192 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


amd 


Now, as it appears, that the very necessity of 
thinking is abridged in princes, by the circum- 
stances in which they are placed, and as, generally 
speaking, in proportion to these circumstances, the 
brain is unemployed, —its slight developement, or its 
actual diminution in such persons, is explained by 
the preceding statement. When we add to this 
the consideration, not only that all organization, 
whether improved or degenerated, is communicated 
to children, but that, in this case, the degraded or- 
ganization is every hour still further degraded by 
the operation of the same circumstances on the 
child which operated on the father, we cannot won- 
der at the peculiar characteristics of the kingly 
countenance, namely, a low and retreating fore- 
head, and expanded organs of sense—a diminution 
of the organs of thinking, and an increase of the 
organs of mere sensual enjoyment. Accordingly, 
I find, that the older the dynasty, and the more 
legitimate the race, if the head be viewed in pro- 
file, the more does the forehead retreat from the 
root of the nose, and the more do the nose and the 
other parts of the face advance from the same point. 
See the faces of all the branches of the Bourbons. 
Their countenances generally are truly royal. 

Professor Camper has shown, that among in- 
ferior animals, the face advances and the forehead 
retreats, as the species diminishes in intellect. 


LAW OF SELECTION. 193 


From this law there are some exceptions, which 
are, however, very easily accounted for; but, gene- 
rally considered, it is equally true and important. 
Thus, the forehead of the monkey is more de- 
pressed than that of the negro; that of the dog, 
more depressed than that of the monkey; that of 
the horse, more depressed than that of the dog; that 
of the bird, more depressed than that of the horse ; 
and that of the fish, more depressed than that of 
the bird. The reason of all this is, that the brain 
or organ of thinking diminishes, and the organs of 
sense proportionally increase, as we descend among 
animals. So well were the Greeks aware of the 
importance of this law—of the brain diminishing 
with the diminution of intellectual power, that, in 
their immortal sculptures, they have given even an 
unnatural expansion to the head, and especially to 
the forehead, in order to confer the most august 
character on their heroes, demi-gods and gods. 
Now, to this practice, it is probable that the 
Greeks were led, both by that exquisite taste 
which has distinguished them from all other na- 
tions, and by a practical observation of the heads 
of the hereditary, and consequently intellectually 
degraded, Asiatic despots, whom they foiled in all 
their attempts at invasion. To this doctrine, Cam- 
per was led by the strictest philosophical induction. 
Thus philosophy, observation and taste, at once 
K 


194 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


support the doctrine I have inculeated, as to 
the intellectual and physiognomical character 
of princes.—If, however, the reader prefer demon- 
stration to proof, he has only for a moment to 
consider the conduct, and to glance at the portraits, 
of the most ancient dynasties in Europe. 

We have hitherto considered only the effect of 
circumstances on the intellectual and physiogno- 
mical character of princes. Let us now consider 
that of intermarriage. The principle of improving 
the breed of animals by crossing, is now fully ap- 
preciated. This principle applies to man as well 
as to inferior animals; and, carried still further, it 
explains the reason of the horror which all men, 
except princes, feel at the intermarriage of near re- 
lations. 

But what has been the practice of all princely 
families on this subject? ‘They have generally in- 
termarried only with persons of similar rank—or 
similarly depraved education—of similarly degene- 
rated intellectual and physiognomical character. 
Moreover, as these families have already often in- 
termarried, their further intermarriages can intro- 
duce few new qualities—can propagate only the 
old and degraded ones, which are common to the 
whole. 

The preceding observations are applicable not 
only to princes, but in some measure also to those 


LAW OF SELECTION. 195 


other ranks in society, which, participating with 
them in ease and absence of the necessity for 
thought, participate also in the danger with which 
such rank and condition are always surrounded. 
Tn them, also, the organ of thought being less em- 
ployed, its volume gradually diminishes, and the 
muscles of the face being less frequently agitated 
by any energy of mind, it assumes a calm and cold 
placidity, a feminine softness and smoothness. 
Such persons lose the intellectual vigour which 
characterizes men, and which is more remarkable 
in northern than in southern nations, and acquire 
sometimes that sensibility, delicacy and_ taste, 
which characterize women, and which are more 
generally remarkable in southern than in northern 
nations. In short, men degenerate under the same 
circumstances which are favourable to female 
beauty; just as women become masculine and 
coarse, under the circumstances which are essen- 
tial to the generation and excitement of intellec- 
tual power and energy in the male. 

The preceding observations are also in some de- 
gree applicable to nations at certain periods, as 
well as to the highest ranks of society.—When a 


state has reached a certain degree of civilization, 

and its people, concentrating themselves in vast 

towns and cities, have attained the utmost limits of 

opulence and luxury, the public mind becomes pro- 
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196 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


portionally stagnant from the absence of excite- 
ment, — artful subtlety is substituted for more 
masculine energy, delicate flattery for nobler sin- 
cerity, obliging falsehood for godlike truth; and 
these feeble and degrading habits are dignified 
with the name of politeness! Speedily, indolence, 
incapacity and insincerity, become the test of rank; 
and manly vigour, intellectual power and generous 
candour, become the marks of vulgarity. Nay, 
while even an erect, firm, or rapid walk, is thought 
to indicate the plebeian, a feeble and unmanly gait, 
or rather a vermin-like crawl, is deemed the sure 
indication of the man of fashion; and while a dis- 


tinct and articulate voice is thought the proof of 
low birth and degraded manners, a brutal drawl— 
an inarticulate, offensive and disgusting voice 
(which seems rather to issue from what physicians 
call the primee viee, than from a mouth) is deemed 
the sure criterion of illustrious origin and high ae- 
complishment. ‘These last are but the exterior 
signs of weakness and worthlessness; but they are 
not unimportant. 

The result of all this is, that when nations are 
thus degraded, they are the more readily enslaved 
by their neighbours; when the higher ranks are 
thus degenerate, the more active vulgar take their 
places in society ; and when princes are thus inca- 
pable, their monarchies are subverted. 


LAW OF SELECTION. 197 


It is evidently by attending to this first law— 
the law of selection, or to the law of crossing, 
which has next to be described, that these fatal 
consequences to individuals, to families and to na- 
tions, can alone be avoided. 


pA knowledge of this law would, moreover, pre- 


vent intermarriage between two individuals, them- 
selves perfectly sane, but who would probably pro- 
duce insane progeny.—Thus, though, in one pa- 
rent, the forehead and the observing, imitating 
and other faculties were very defective, and 
though, in the other parent, the backhead and the 
exciting faculties, the passions and the will, were 
equally defective; yet the former, owing to the 
developement of the middle and- posterior part of 
the brain, and the latter, owing to the developement 
of its middle and anterior part, might still be sane, 
or even possessed of superior abilities —But if 
this law be admitted, true as it assuredly is, it fol- 
lows that each parent may communicate either the 
anterior or the posterior organs; that, in this case, 
the offspring may receive the very defective fore- 
head and observing faculties of one parent, and the 
very defective backhead and motive faculties of the 
other; and that the idiocy of such offspring would 
be the inevitable result. Living proofs of this fact 
are found wherever there are idiotic or weak- 
minded children. ` 


198 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


In this case, indeed, the chances of sanity and 
insanity are equal, because the well-developed an- 
terior part of the head in one parent, and the well- 
developed posterior part of the head in the other, 
are as likely to be propagated together, as are 
the ill-developed backhead of the former, and the 
ill-developed forehead of the latter.—But the case 
may be either worse, or better, than this; for if 
in one parent, there be but one of the portions of 
the head well developed, and in the other, neither 
portion, then there is but one chance of sanity 
against three of insanity or of defect; and if, on 
the contrary, in one parent, there be both portions 
of the head well developed, and in the other one 
portion, then there are three chances of sanity 
against one of defect.—The general mode of cor- 
recting defects of the thinking system, by means of 
intermarriage, is thus rendered evident. 

That of correcting defects of the locomotive sys- 
tem, or of the nutritive system, is similar.—T hus, 
the shorter body, longer limbs, and meagre frame 


of some of our own northern races may, in progeny, 
be corrected by intermarriage with the longer 
bodied, shorter-limbed, and more fully formed races 
of our south-eastern counties. And, vice versA, 
excess in these latter forms may, in progeny, be 
corrected by intermarriage with the former. 

As organization is thus propagated in halves — 


LAW OF SELECTION. 199 


the whole of the anterior series of organs (sensitive 
and vital) always going together, and the whole of 
the posterior series (voluntary and locomotive) si- 


milarly going together—the reader will see the 
error of the common hypothesis of blood. Accord- 
ing to that hypothesis, the sire and dam equally im- 
part blood to the progeny: the filly consequently 
produced by an Arabian horse and a cart-mare has 
one-half Arabian blood; the filly produced by the 
first one and an Arabian has three-fourths Arabian 
blood; the filly produced by the second one and 
an Arabian has seven-eights Arabian blood; and 
the filly produced by the third one and an Arabian 
has fifteen-sixteenths Arabian blood ! 

Blood is certainly very easily divided; and it 
serves the purpose of this hypothesis very well. 
But: why is blood the material pitched upon? 
Chyle or urine would have served the purpose just 
as well; and it would express just as much to say, 
the filly or the colt is three-fourths chyle or three- 
fourths urine, as three-fourths blood: all these are 
liquids contained in the tubular organs of the vital 
system, and go in mass along with that system 
wherever it goes—they are merely its perpetually 
varying contents. The fact is, that blood is a 
groom’s term, invented by ignorant fellows who 
wanted to look knowing; and, from these high au- 
thorities, it has been borrowed, to the end of 


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200 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


obscuring the whole history and truth of breed- 
ing. 

But I shall be told, “We do not mean real 
blood; blood does not mean blood here; it must 
not be taken in its literal sense” [the common sub- 
terfuge in politics, religion and everything else, of 
men who have no precise ideas, who do not know 
what they mean, but who would fain make others 
think they really mean something, and that worth 
knowing !]; “we mean a kind of a general in- 
fluence, which is divisible exactly like blood, and 
which the term blood is very well calculated to ex- 
press.” —Ask them if the thing they mean has not 
a name of its own, because wrong names excite 
wrong ideas; or tell them that, if they cannot re- 
member the name, they perhaps can describe the 
thing; and they reply by saying, nothing or non- 
sense. It is, mdeed, a mere name, an abstract 
term, that serves their purpose best. 

To the reader, however, the folly of this hypo- 
thesis is evident, since he has seen that, not the 
inorganic contents of the vital organs, nor any frac- 
tion of these, but the whole vital system is at once 
communicated by one parent, and the whole loco- 
motive system by the other. 

This shows the absurdity of repeated crossings 
with the Arab horse or any other animal; for the only 
effect which even the first of these repetitions can 


LAW OF CROSSING. 201 


possibly produce is, by a new half of organization, to 
supersede either the half given by the original stock, 
or that given by the first Arab, while the second 
repetition may supersede what was given by the re- 
maining parent—thus destroying all that was given 
by both the original parents; and every two addi- 
tional ones may similarly supersede the organiza- 
tion of all those who preceded them. So that all 
that is gained by this, is a perpetual exchange and 
fluctuation, and consequently deterioration as likely 
as improvement. 


II. Law or CROSSING, 


WHERE EACH PARENT IS OF A DIFFERENT VARIETY. 


By cross-breeding, says Mr. Knight (21, De- 
cember), “ that is, by breeding from a male and fe- 
male of a different family, though of a variety of the 
same family, the Hereford breed of cattle for ex- 
ample, we always seek, in the male and in the 
family of the male, something which is defective in 
the female, or in the family of the female: but 
where both male and female are free from defect, 
or even where no tendency to a defect is seen, I 
think, and I believe others generally agree with 
me, that vigour is given to the offspring to a greater 
extent than when both parents are nearly related.” 
—Here a somewhat extended sense is given to 

K 5 


202 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE, 


crossing; so that it seems to trench on what Sir 
John Sebright terms selection. 

The second law, namely that of Crossing, ope- 
rates where each parent is of a different breed, and 
when, supposing both to be of equal age and 
vigour, the male gives the backhead and locomotive 
organs, and the female the face and nutritive 
organs. 


Ss ESSE LS RG, pg ae EE oe OR Lan 


The facts which suggested to me this law, were 
those which I shall forthwith quote, as observed by 
Mr. Cline, Mr. Knight and Sir Anthony Car- 
lisle. 

The cause that, in crosses, the -male gives the 
cerebel and locomotive system, is both striking and 
beautiful.—If no being can desire that of which it 


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is already in possession—if, on the contrary, it must 
desire most that which differs most (if not incom- 
patible), it cannot be wondered, that in crosses, 
where the desired difference is greatest, the male, 
in whom desire is most ardent, should stamp the 
systems by which he exercises desire, the voluntary 
and locomotive, upon the progeny. 

Mr. Theobald of Stockwell, an extensive breeder, 
informs me that he has always thought that 
strong volition and great ardour on the part of 
the male stamps his form * on progeny, a direct 


* General form depending, as already explained, chiefly 
on the skeleton, which is the basis of the locomotive system. 


LAW OF CROSSING. 203 


and singular corroboration of the cause just as- 
signed. l 

It derives support also from the observation of 
Dr. Pritchard, that “ Mived breeds are very often 
produced superior in almost all their physical qua- 
lities to the parent races, and particularly with so 
much vigour of propagation, that they often gain 
ground upon the older varieties, and gradually su- 
persede them. This one property of greater fe- 
cundity is often the particular reason for the selec- 
tion, and the circumstance which induces agricul- 
turists and the breeders of cattle to adopt new races 
in preference to the old ones.” 


So much for the cause of the law.—The facts 


proving it are abundant. 

One of the most remarkable crosses among the 
human species, is that between the European and 
the African negro; its effects being easily seen in 
consequence of the striking characteristics of the 
two varieties. 

If, in this cross, the European is the male pa- 
rent, he communicates the backhead and the gene- 
ral figure: neither the bones of the thighs nor 
those of the legs are bent as in the negro, nor are 
the heels long, nor the calfs high; while the under 
lip and the point of the nose are considerably less, 
and quite European in character. ‘The African 
mother, on the contrary, is seen in the narrow and 


204 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


retreating forehead, the high cheek-bones, the 
large eyes, the long upper lip, and all the remain- 
ing parts of the face. This is well seen in Plate vir, 
figures 1 and 2, . 

Another remarkable cross is that between the 
African negro and the native American, 

In this cross, the African is generally the male 
parent; and he communicates the backhead 
and general figure. The bones of the legs and 
those of the thighs are bent, the heels are long, 
and the calfs high; while the lips and the point of 
the nose are similarly of African character. The 
Indian mother, on the contrary, is seen especially 
in the face being broader without any hollow under 
the cheek-bones, and in the face being flatter, with- 
out any projection of the teeth and jaws contain- 
ing them. The flatness of these, and the promi- 
nence of the lips laid upon them, mark the 
curious combination of the African and the Indian. 
This is well seen in Plate vit, figures 3 and 4. 

Thus, in human crosses, the male gives the loco- 
motive system; the female, the vital one. 

Alluding to less remarkable crosses than these, 
Mr. Knight says (21, December), “In the human 
subject, cross-breeding would, I do not doubt, be 
productive of good effect, if made between indivi- 
duals and families which had, through generations, 
been engaged in occupations of wholly different 
kinds, 


GE 


a 


LAW OF CROSSING. 205 


Of the power of the horse to communicate, ina 
cross, his skeleton, and therefore his locomotive 
system generally, or in other words his general 
shape and character, Mr. Knight gives an inte- 


resting example (16, April, &c.) 


“I have obtained offspring,” he says, “from — 
Norwegian pony mares and the London dray- 
horse, of which the legs are preternaturally short, 
and the shoulders and body preternaturally deep, 
and the animal of course preternaturally strong. I 
felt my way cautiously in making such experi- 
ments, fearing that I might subject the unfortunate 
females to a very painful death; but I found the 
size of the foetus to be governed by the size and 
breed of the female parent.—I repeated the oppo- 
site experiment with opposite results. 

« Where the size of the breeds differs much, the in- 
fluence of the male parent and that of the female one 
upon the form of the offspring (particularly of those 
animals, of which nature intended the offspring to 
accompany the parent in flight at an early age) 
differ very widely; the female parent in such cases 
governing the length of the legs almost wholly; at 
the birth, I think wholly; but when the male be- 
longs to a family of much larger size, the joints 
and hoofs are larger, and therefore occupy more 
space.” 

And again, “The offspring of my Norwegian 


206 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE, 


mares, as always happens in similar cases, had 
legs as short as their mother’s at birth; but the 
male parent, the dray-horse, caused these legs to 
grow greatly stronger, and their joints and bodies, 


generally much larger, although the legs remained 
short.” 

Thus, in equine crosses, the male gives the loco- 
motive system, the female the vital one. 

As to mules, Mr. Knight (22, May) says, “ The 
fact that, in mule quadrupeds, the male parent over- 
rules the female in giving form to: the offspring, is 
placed beyond the reach of controversy; and I feel 
confident that the opinion I givein the paper above 
mentioned [upon the hereditary instinctive propen- 
sities of animals], that the male over-rules to the 
same extent, or greater extent, in giving the dispo- 
sition, and mind of the offspring, is equally well 
founded. 

From Mr. Knight’s expression, “the male over- 
rules, to the same extent, or greater extent,” it is 
evident that he does not entirely over-rule. I was 
therefore desirous of seeing what organs, in such 
crosses, remained less affected by the male parent. 
At Carshalton, I found a team of three mules, the 
property of Mr. Whatney. They were evidently 
ass-mules, or mules of which the ass is the male 
parent; having low fore-quarters, pointed hind- 
quarters, long docks, high narrow hooves, and a 


LAW OF CROSSING. 207 


sort of squeal, instead of bray or neigh. All were 
remarkable for obstinacy, incapacity of backing, 
dislike to drink from a trough, liking for straw and 
coarse food, and propensity to roll. Two of these 
were Barbary mules, and had shorter ears, more open 
eyes, and more the head of the horse. One was a Spa- 
nish mule, and had longer ears, less open eyes, and 
less the head of the horse, as well as a more ass- 
like body. All had more vivacity, sensibility and 
quickness of motion than the ass; and all were fe- 
males. But, though these animals had the general 
form of the ass, their organs of sense (and probably 
also their vital system) showed several characters 
of the horse. 

I found also that Messrs. Reynolds and Lee, at 
Garrat Mills, had a fine specimen of the horse- 
mule, with the general form of the horse, as strik- 
ing as Mr. Whatney’s had that of the ass—shoulders 
I think higher, fine equine neck, head also equine, 
eyes and nostrils rather open, and hooves shorter 
than those of the ass-mule and convex anteriorly 
(the posterior ones especially). So also as to mind: 
his action was like that of the horse; he would 
back, drink from a trough, was an excellent hunter, 
&e. Thus the general form of the horse-mule re- 


sembles the horse; but his organs of sense (and 
probably also his vital system) show several cha- 
racters of the ass. 


208 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


As to kine, Mr. Cline, speaking of crosses, Says, 
“The characters of both parents are observed in 
their offspring; but that of the male more fre- 
quently predominates. This may be illustrated in 
the breeding of horned animals; among which there 
are many varieties of sheep, and some of cattle that 
are hornless. 


“Ifa hornless ram be put to horned ewes, al- 


most all the lambs will be hornless, partaking of 
the character of the male more than of the female 
parent... In some counties, as Norfolk, Wilt- 
shire and Dorsetshire, most of the sheep have 
horns. In Norfolk, the horns may be got rid of, by 
crossing with Ryeland rams; which would also im- 
prove the form of the chest, and the quality of the 
wool. In Wiltshire and Dorsetshire, the same im- 
provement might be made, by crossing the sheep 
with South Down rams. 

“ An offspring without horns might be obtained 
from the Devonshire cattle, by crossing with horn- 
less bulls of the Galloway breed; which would also 
improve the form of the chest—in which the De- 
vonshire cattle are often deficient.” 

My Correspondent * x *, in a letter of the 11, 
January, in answer to the question, “In crosses, 
where the male and female parents are of differen 
breeds, does it not appear that the male, if young 
and vigorous, always gives that system, general 


LAW OF CROSSING. 209 


shape and character ?”—says, “I have. not much 
actual experience as to crossing different breeds. 
Mr, Charles Colling put a short horned bull to a 
[hornless] Galloway cow: the cross was successful, 
and exists at present in most of the improved short- 
horned cattle. I never heard of any of the produce 
being without horns, and I never saw one who could 
be distinguished from a pure short-horned beast. 
Mr. Vansittart used a well-bred short-horned bull 
to well-bred Hereford cows: the produce had all 
the appearance of short-horned cattle. I used a 
well-bred Hereford bull to common short-horned 
cows : all the produce had the appearance of Here- 
fords. I remember Sir Charles Knightley having 
a very good hunter got by a thorough-bred stal- 
lion out of a carf-mare: he had the appearance of 
a cart-horse, but the powers and speed of a well- 
bred horse, excepting that he could not go fast up 
hill. Ihave a mare got by a thorough-bred horse 
out of a cart-mare: she takes very much after her 
sire. My opinion is, that where two animals are 
put together, in the breeding of one of which pains 
have been taken for some successive generations to 
produce any given shape or quality, and in the 
breeding of the other of which no such pains have 
been taken, the produce will follow the characte- 
ristics of the former, whether it be male or female ; 


that is, to use the common farming language, a well- 


ne me ena nee ean aK =e ie 
T aR teratoma mee ol ee 
St aa 


210 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE, 


bred animal will mark his or her produce more 
than an ill-bred one.” Thereason is obvious—in the 
best bred animal, the voluntary and locomotive 
powers will always be most intense. 

Thus, in crosses of cattle as well as of horses, 
the male, except where feebler, or of inferior vo- 
Juntary and locomotive power, gives the locomotive 
system; the female, the vital one. 

As to dogs, the breeders state that, in a cross be- 
tween the bull-dog and terrier, if the bull-dog is 
the father, the progeny have the shape (which im- 
plies the skeleton, and therefore the locomotive 
system in general) of the bull-dog; and if the ter- 
rier is the father, they have the shape of the ter- 
rier, 

Mr. Helps, of the Bayswater-road, an experiencd 
breeder, informs me that even when the dog is 
merely as young and vigorous as the bitch, this is 
the case; that. it is more conspicuously so the 
younger and more vigorous the dog; but that if 
the dog be old and enfeebled, and the bitch young 
and vigorous, the reverse takes place ; and that 
this is true of all crosses of dogs. He adds that, 
under the same circumstances, the male sex pre- 
dominates; or the female. 

G. Lee, Esq., Garratt Mills, had lately a cross 
between a terrier dog and a greyhound bitch, all of 
which presented the shape of the father in a re- 
markable manner. 


LAW OF CROSSING. 211 


Thus, in crosses of dogs, the male gives the loco- 
motive system ; the female, the vital one. 

Respecting birds, the breeders state, that, in a 
cross between the male goldfinch and female ca- 
nary, the shape and the skeleton of the mule pro- 
duced is always that of the male. 

My. Blake, John-street, says that, in every cross 
he has observed among birds, the male gives the 
beak, head and all the bony parts that can be dis- 
tinguished. | 

Mr. Nash, of Windmill-street, a breeder of the 
greatest intelligence as well as experience, also 
states that, in crosses, as in that between the male 
goldfinch and female canary, the male not only 
gives the beak and scull to the mule, as observed 


by Mr. Blake, but, in this instance, the longer 
neck, the wider chest, the longer sternum and the 
longer legs; and that, in this case, some of these 
(the sternum especially) are longer than in the 
male bird. The cause of this evidently is, that in a 
mule all growth contributes only to individual life; 


and, as to the sternum, we know that it is always 
shortest in the female, to facilitate the producing 
and laying of eggs; and it is evidently longer in 
mules, because they are incapable of the due per- 
formance of any reproductive process. 

For the same reason, “the ox of the Hereford 
breed,” as Mr. Knight observes, “is much larger 
than the size of the cow would promise.” 


wie LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


The translator of Bechstein says, “A bullfinch 
and female canary once produced five young ones, 
which died on a journey, which they could not 
bear. Their large beak, and the blackish down 
with which they were covered, showed that they 
were more like their father than their mother. 

“A male goldfinch,” says Bechstein, “is paired 
with one or two female canaries, which succeeds 
better than by placing a male canary with a female 
goldfinch ; the former being more amorous. 

“ Mules between the canary and the siskin.—If 
the mother be a green canary, the males will re- 
semble [in colour] a female siskin; but, if she is 
white or yellow, their colours are lighter, yet 
without differing greatly from those of the siskin, 
which they always resemble in shape. 

“Mules between a canary and a green bird, ora 
citril finch.—If the hen canary is neither white nor 
yellow, the mules differ little from the common grey 
or green canary, except in being more slender, and 
having the beak shorter and thicker” 

Mr. Knight (4, December) says, «I was engaged 
in an attempt (which failed, though a similar expe- 
riment had been in one case successful) to obtain 
offspring from the peacock and Turkey hen, when 
the wife of a cottager informed me, that a farmer re- 
sident within a few miles of me, had a bird bred 
between the common hen and a wood-pigeon. 


LAW OF CROSSING. 213 


Upon further inquiry, I found that a chicken, 
which had been deserted by its mother, and a young 
wood-pigeon, had been reared together, and con- 
tinued to live together, the wood-pigeon constantly — 
paying his addresses as to one of his own species. 
Many eggs were laid by the hen, but one only 
hatched; and this afforded the bird in question. It 
was a hen in every respect, except that the base of 
its beak was quite naked, soft and turgid, like that 
of a wood-pigeon, that the feathers rose upright 
from the base of the beak, and that the head of the 
bird strongly presented the character of a wood- 
pigeon. I attributed this peculiar form, &c. to 
mere accident; but I am now disposed to doubt. 

He also says (23, November), “ I thought that I 
saw a prevalence of the male parent in the dispo- 
sition and habits of the mule birds bred between 
the common and musk duck. 


Thus, in crosses of birds, the male gives the lo- 
comotive system; the female, the vital. z 

As to fish, Sir Anthony Carlisle’s statement 
shows, that, in the mule between the male trout 
and female salmon, the size (and therefore the 
skeleton) is given by the male, as appears from 
the following letter. 


“ Langham Place, Nov. 20, 1837. 
“ My dear Sir, 


“ More than thirty years since, the breeding of 


214 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


trout was tried by impregnating their ova in con- 
fined water-cages made to protect the young 
against their natural enemies. 


s As I had some share in those experiments, I 
undertook to try to breed those mule fishes, known 
to be a produce between male trouts and salmon 
roe, or the reverse. I accordingly procured a quart 
jug full of ripe salmon roe from the freshest fish 
just arrived at Billingsgate, in the month of Janu- 
ary; and I proceeded with them directly to Car- 
shalton, where they were carefully deposited by a 
man who waded into the stream, and raked the 
ova among the gravel in the trout spawning ; 
gravel heaps. 

“In the month of April, a new sort of fish ap- 
peared, for the first time, in that river, which 
proved to be the mules, called skeggers, in the 
Thames, smelts, in the north of England rivers, 
and gravel-last-springs, in many of the western and 
southern counties. ‘They were, in this case, very 
abundant; and apparently their numbers corres- 
ponded with the salmon spawn deposited in the 
trout gravel-hills. 

“These mules never appear but where salmon 
invade the breeding gravel-hills of trout; and, in 
my experiment, the impregnators were necessarily 
male trouts, because salmon never pass the mills 
upon the Wandle. The influence of the male trout 
in this instance was therefore unquestionable, 


LAW OF CROSSING. 215 


“These mules partook of the character of 
trout more than of salmon. They had bright red 
spots on their sides; but the black colour was 
shaded downward in bars, like those of the perch. 
The tails were not forked like those of the salmon, 
as I have seen them in the Thames skeggers, 
(from which I infer the male salmon, in that case, 
to have been the impregnators). ‘They grew to 
the length of the male parent [therefore had a 
similar skeleton], and to the weight of a quarter of 
a pound, and they disappeared before autumn. 

“ I am, my dear sir, yours, 
« ANTHONY CaRLISLE.* 
« To Alexander Walker, Esq.” 


This giving of the osseous system, skeleton, 
horns, &c. in all these cases, shows that the whole 


locomotive system (for the ligaments and muscles 
go with the bones) is given, in crosses, by the 
male; and, from the general law, it follows, that \ 
the vital and nutritive system is given by the | 
female. 


* e The natural history of the mule between the male 
trout and the salmon,” says Mr. Knight, “is, I suspect, 
very little known, after the first nine months of that ani- 
- mal’s life. Instead of going off to the sea with the first 
spring floods, they remain till autumn, when they go off, 
and nothing more is, I believe, known respecting them. 
They are almost wholly males. 


216 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


There is now a great hypothetical or theoretical 
point in which I would presume to dissent from Mr. 
Knight, Sir John Sebright and * * *: it regards 
the distinction made as to permanent hereditary 
character and habits (that is character and habits 
unvarying as communicated to progeny), and such 
as are not so. 

“In giving such changes of form,” says Mr. 
Knight (21, December), ‘the influence of the 
male and female parents have been, as far as I 
have observed (and I have paid a good deal of at- 
tention to that point), equal, provided the habits of 
each in their ancestry had been equally un- 
varying.” 

Now, I believe that there is no more want of 
adherence of the two series of organs, vital and 
locomotive, in any one case than in another— 
or in other words, that all combinations are equally 
variable, or equally permanent. ‘The whole differ- 
ence is, that, in keeping to the same variety, we 
combine series so similar, that they seem to be the 
same, and then we call them permanent; whereas, 
in crossing, we at first’ generally combine series so 
unlike that every difference is apparent, and we 


afterwards use their progeny vot en] and 
undiscriminatingly. 


The new animal will then seem less permanent, 
only because, in a union between animals con- 


SN Tn 


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al Sa aan ll ile ST TBR LEDER gt Sot 


Ee 


LAW OF CROSSING, 217 


structed of two very different series of organs, these 
organs, after dividing in their immediate progeny, 
will re-combine in the produce of these, and re-form 
the precise combinations of the parents who were 
crossed.—But this re-formation may also be pre- 
vented, as shall be shown in the sequel. | 

First, however, it is necessary to see the whole 
strength of the argument on the other side, en- 
forced by examples, of which there is an abun- 
dance. Sasi 

“If I were to breed,” says Mr. Knight (29, De- 
cember) “from a female of this kind with a male 
of similar origin [cross-breeds from a Hereford 
bull and Alderney cow], neither of them of course 
possessing permanent hereditary character, the off- 
spring would be extremely dissimilar to each other ; 
some would appear nearly pure Herefords, and some 
nearly pure Alderneys; and if such mixed breed 
were to become the stock of a farm, some appa- 
rently perfect Herefords, and some perfect Alder- 
neys, however begotten, would be produced during 
a long succeeding period. 

“ Although,” says Sir John Sebright, “I be- 
lieve the occasional intermixture of different fami- 


lies to be necessary, I do not, by any means, ap- 
prove of mixing two distinct breeds, with the view 
of uniting the valuable properties of both: this ex- 
periment has been frequently tried by others, as 


L 


| 


218 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


well as myself, but has, I believe, never succeeded. 
The first cross frequently produces a tolerable 
animal, but it is a breed that cannot be continued. 

“If it were possible, by a cross between the new 
Leicestershire and Merino breeds of sheep, to pro- 
duce an animal uniting the excellencies of both, 
that is, the carcass of the one with the fleece of the 
other, even such an animal, so produced, would be 
of little value to the breeder; a race of the same 
description could not be perpetuated; and no de- 
pendence could be placed upon the produce of such 
animals; they would be mongrels, some like the 
new Leicester, some like the Merino, and most of 
them with the faults of both.” 

Having put to my correspondent * * * the fol- 
lowing question, “ What reason is there to suppose 
that a cross between the new Leicesters and the 
Merinos could not be perpetuated, that is, a cross 
combining their best qualities? I received the 
following answer (11, January): “It is not impossi- 
ble that such a cross might be established; but I 
think the probable result of the attempt would be, 
that the tendency to fatten and to become fit for 
the butcher at an early age, which the Leicesters 
now possess, would be lost, while the fineness and 
beauty of the Merino wool would be much 
worsened. A man may take one cross without 
much permanent mischief; but if he attempts to 


LAW OF CROSSING. 219 


produce a cross breed, it usually happens that the 
progeny possess the faults of both the parent 
breeds, instead of their merits. Besides this, he 
cannot look forward, with anything like certainty, 
to what any young animal will be: some would be 
like Merinos; some like Leicesters ; and I should 
think almost a century must elapse before the most 
skilful management could produce animals having 
the characteristics of well-bred sheep.” 

Now, while the cross between the Hereford and 
Alderney is a reasonable one, that between the 
Leicester and Merino is not so, because the car- 
cass and the wool go together with the locomo- 
tive system, and whichever animal should give 
one, would in reality give both. I had myself 
wrongly imagined that the wool depended on the 
vital system, when I put the preceding question to 
my correspondent * * *; and even now I retain 
that statement of the case, because, supposing the 
carcass to depend on the locomotive system and the 
wool on the vital system, it illustrates the object 
in view, as well as the real and practicable case of 
the Hereford and the Alderney. In fact, such 


difficulties admit of the most satisfactory explana- 
tion, as well as of the easiest rectification, accord- 
ing to the laws already announced. 
First, as to explanation. 
A and B, who are more or less perfectly crossed, 
P2 


220 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


may have very different vital and locomotive sys- 
tems: oftheir immediate progeny, C may have the 
vital system of A and the locomotive system of B; 
and D may, on the contrary, have the locomotive 
system of A and the vital system of B (for i in a 
feeble or imperfect cross, such variation may oc- 
| cur): and, of the progeny of these last, E may have 
from C the vital system of A, and from D the loco- 
, ¿motive system of A; and F may have from C the 
7 locomotive system of B, and from D the vital sys- 
temofB. Thus A and B may be reformed in the 
third generation.—In all this, the differences will 
be evident; the results of the cross will appear to 
_ be variable; and want of permanence will be im- 
" puted to it.* 

This is an illustration of the very cases spoken 
of as occurring in the preceding paragraphs. They 
would arise from this, that the locomotive system 
of the Hereford bull existing in one, would be as 
often added to the vital system of the Hereford ex- 
isting in another, as these organs of the Alderney 
cow would be united—so that both would be re- 
formed. 


« If the vital and locomotive systems of A and 
B had not been very different, but very similar, this 
change, however real, would not have been apparent, 
and permanence would have been ascribed to the 
breed. 


j LAW OF CROSSING. 


E TO ST, n 


On this explanation, * * * (23, February, 1838) 
says, “ If your theory was correct, it would be a 
reasonable mode of accounting for the difficulty of 
preserving a cross breed.” 

Secondly, as to rectification. 

The first good result of crossing may certainly 
be maintained, by taking care that the crosses are 
strong and perfect, and that the male parents, 
having the locomotive system required, shall als 
dominate by youth, vigour, &e. By this means, 
male and female progeny may be procured, each 
having not only the precise locomotive system, but 
the precise vital one required; and these can pro- 
duce none but progeny of the character desired. 

Or if, under the less favourable circumstances of) 
feeble or imperfect crosses, few should have the 
locomotive and vital system required, and others 
the reverse, these last ought not to be employed, but 
others still obtained having these systems similar 
to the first; for these also could produce none but 
progeny of the character desired. 

It is, therefore, from not understanding the dis- 
tinct propagation of the two series of organs, and 
the mode of preventing their re-combination which 
the law of crossing affords, that the unsuitable pro- 
duce of any cross is bred from. Assuredly, if when 
two or more of the cross breeds are obtained, each 
having similar locomotive and vital systems, and 


T22 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


these systems, precisely such as are required, these 
alone can be propagated by them—they cannot 
give what they do not possess—the faulty parts, 
being cast out of this combination, they cannot, 
by its means, be reproduced in any repetition 
of it.* 

But it is remarkable, that Sir John Sebright’s 
language implies the truth of the doctrine I have 
now delivered, without his being aware of it—He 
says, as above quoted, “ The first cross frequently 
produces a tolerable animal, but it is a breed that 
cannot be continued.” 

So also Mr. Knight (21, February, 1838) says, 
“ Cross-bred animals of the first generation are 
generally good, provided the breed of the male be 
not of smaller size than that of the female ; but not 
otherwise according to my experience.” 

Now, seeing that the operations of nature are sim- 
ple and never capricious, why does it frequently, or 
generally, produce a tolerable animal ?—Because, if 
the cross is a feeble or imperfect one, the male, de- 
pendent only on relative energy, may give either lo- 
comotive or vital system, and not the precise one de- 
sired; and so may the female. In one case, there- 
fore, the cross will be a tolerable one; and, in another, 

* If this is not correct, what becomes of the old axiom 


“ like produces like?” for here would be Like producing 
wnlike in an extraordinary degree. 


LAW OF CROSSING. 223 


it will be an intolerable one. But the breeder 
having no notion that these two systems never go 


together from one. parent, and having no idea of 
the entire difference which subsists. between them, 
is incapable of distinguishing them. 

And why is it a breed that cannot be continued ? 
— Because, precisely as I have described above, the 
breeder next puts together two products of the first 
cross, without this due distinction; and the conse- 
quence is that, precisely also as I have above de- 
scribed, he re-forms both the original breeds. 

But the fact is, that able breeders have, either by 
accident, or by keener observation, often accom- 
plished all that they desired in this way. 

Mr. Wilkinson says, “ I shall inquire, whether 
a cross from two distinct breeds can be obtained 
and continued, so as to unite, in almost an equal 
proportion, the properties of both; and I am fully of 
opinion that this can be accomplished . . - I have 
seen the latter effected between the long and short- 
horned cattle.” 

It certainly seems surprising that breeders, 
having, in any case, seen a Cross perfectly success- 
ful and eminently beneficial, should not have been 
led to inquire more closely and carefully into the 
circumstances under which it occurred. As similar 
causes always produce similar effects ; so similar 
conditions in crossing will always produce similar 


294 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE, 


progeny, whether one cross or ten crosses be 
made. 

Mr. Knight (29, December) observes, that “The 
offspring of the cross-bred animal, if a thorough 
bred Hereford bull were the parent, would scarcely 
be distinguished from a true Hereford, on account 
of the male having, and the cross-bred female not 
having, permanent habits. But the law again ex- 
plains this; for the cross-bred must already have 
half the Hereford organization, and the Hereford 
bull again employed may give the other half. 

“ Such occurrences,” adds Mr. Knight, “ con- 
tinually present themselves in the human species, 
in this, and in every country which is inhabited by 
a race which hasbeen long ago civilized; and these 
circumstances lead me to doubt the justice of some 
of your inferences . . . Amongst a people so ex- 
tensively cross-bred, between different families, as 
the English are, it is not practicable to make ex- 
periments similar to those above mentioned.” 

All that I have said, however, is equally applic- 
able to the races of mankind.— In Britain, the pure 
races may yet be seen—Saxon in Norfolk, Suffolk, 
Essex, &c.; Celtic in the western highlands ; 
Danish, with red hair and the burr, in the north 
of England ; Norwegian further north; Sclavonic, 
with cat-like faces, in Caithness; &c.—Organiza- 
tion is indestructible, and can be cast out or omit- 


LAW OF CROSSING. 


ted only by the means above described, that is, by 
excluding what is faulty on both sides in the second 
generation. But as, among mankind, this casting 
out or omission cannot be accomplished generally 
(but only by the few who have the knowledge and 
the means to improve their families), the original 
combinations are perpetually reproduced, and the 
character of the original colonists or invaders, is 
everywhere to be seen, as in the counties now 
mentioned. | 

In regard to the importance of this law as re- 
gards the crossing of the breeds of animals, the 
slightest consideration will show that, if, of the two 
great series of organs described, each belongs en- 
tirely to a distinct parent, we consequently can 
neither derive, in progeny, both series from one 
parent, nor portions of both from each parent, 
‘but that every attempt to do so must be a 
failure, and must consequently lead to mere loss of 
time and money.—It, at the same time, indicates 
the rational mode of procedure.—It moreover 
shows that, in a feeble or imperfect cross, bad as 
well as good combinations may be produced ; but 
that such progeny as present the precise qualities 
desired, must alone be employed in further breed- 
ing, while inferior progeny is cast aside. 

Here, it will be observed, that while great differ- 
ence was sought for in the cross, similarity is 

L 


i 
i) 
4 


ee Se ee ee SSS 


2926 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


sought for in the pair it produces, for, without 
that, there could be no homogeneity or conformity 
of breed—it would seem (to use Mr. Knight's 
language) to want permanence; nor can any cross 
ever be established without this similarity being 
obtained in its produce. 

This similarity has nothing to do with that quasi 
identity which is the principle of close and strict 
in-and-in breeding. Moreover, it is soon diver- 
sified by the modifications and accidents arising in 
an enlarging herd or flock, and permitting, accord- 
ing to the first law, the practice of that selection 
which maintains the cross, without degenerating 
into In-and-in. 


HI. Law or Iy-anp-1n BREEDING, 


WHERE BOTH PARENTS ARE OF THE SAME FAMILY. 


The third law, namely that of in-and-in breed- 
ing, operates where both parents are not only of the 
same variety, but of the same family in its nar- 
rowest sense, and when the female gives always 
the backhead and locomotive organs, and the 
male, the face and nutritive organs—precisely the 
reverse of what takes place in crossing. 

Among the facts in support of this law of in- 
and-in breeding, may first be mentioned this, that 


LAW OF IN-AND-IN BREEDING. 20% 


when the male is enfeebled, he no longer gives 
character to the progeny, and that he always be- 
comes enfeebled by breeding in-and-in, and even 
loses reproductive power. 


Speaking of breeding in-and-in generally, Sir 
John Sebright says, “ I have no doubt that, by 
this practice being continued, animals would, in 


course of time, degenerate to such a degree, as to 
become incapable of breeding at all. 

« I have tried many experiments, by breeding 
in-and-in upon dogs, fowls and pigeons: the dogs 
became, from strong spaniels, weak and diminu- 
tive lap-dogs, the fowls became long in the legs, 
small in the body, and bad breeders. 

«There are a great many sorts of fancy pigeons : 
each variety has some particular property, which 
constitutes its supposed value, and which the ama- 
teurs increase as much as possible, both by breed- 
ing in-and-in, and by selection, until the particular 
property is made to predominate to such a degree, 
in some of the most refined sorts, that they cannot 
exist without the greatest care, and are incapable 
of rearing their young, without the assistance of 
other pigeons, kept for that purpose.” 

Mr. Knight (21, December) says, that in breed- 
ing in-and-in, “ The animals in all cases gradually 
acquired, though with some irregularity, more 
dwarfish habits; and I think it probable that bar- 


928 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


renness would ultimately have occurred, as Sir 
John Sebright observed in pigeons.” 

“ Close breeding,” says Mr. Berry, “ impairs the 
constitution, and affects the procreative powers.” 

Tn in-and-in, I believe that the generative power 
fails first or chiefly on the part of the male. 

Although the voluntary and locomotive power 
of the female is never so intense as that of the 
male, it is more frequently and repeatedly in ac- 


tion, In the male, the reproductive impulse is 


that of a moment, and exhaustion follows it: in 
the female, it can at any time be repeated. The 
vital and reproductive systems are in fact the 
largest and most essential portions of her organiza- 
tion; but by no means of his. It is evident, there- 
fore, why, when voluntary power is lessened in 
the male, it may be exceeded by that of the 
female; so that the failure is first or chiefly upon 
his part. 

In further support of this view, Mr. Knight 
(21, December) says, “ You are, I think, probably 
right in supposing that the powers of the male 
would first fail, though in nine cases of barren- 
ness out of ten or more, the defect is in the 
female.”—And again (21, February, 1838) «I 
have had reason to believe that in breeding in-and- 
in, to an injurious extent, the powers of the male 
fail first. I once,in the same season, reared two 


LAW OF IN-AND-IN BREEDING. 229 


young bulls, of which the parents were nearly re- 
lated; and both proved perfectly impotent; at 
least both failed to beget a single calf, though the 
young females bred well enough, whilst young, at 
least.” 

Now, as no being can desire that of which it is 
already in possession,—as, in animals bred in-and- 
in, there is little or no difference, little or nothing 
to be desired,—as no being can feel sexual excite- 
ment towards itself, and little toward that which 
is like itself,—as organs unexcited do not act,—it 
is not to be wondered that, in in-and-in, the male 
no longer stamps his voluntary and locomotive 
systems upon the progeny. 

In mentioning to Mr. Nash (the intelligent 
dealer in birds already spoken of as to crossing) 
the circumstances, that even in crossing, a feeble 
male lost the power of giving form to the progeny 
which was thus imparted by the female, and that 
Sir John Sebright had observed the loss of genera- 
tive power in breeding in-and-in ; and, on further 
stating to him my expectation that, im progeny 
produced by breeding in-and-in, the male chiefly 
would be debilitated, because, in his vigour, he 
possesses voluntary power in the highest degree, 


and organs exercised in excess are most liable to 
debility, &c. ;—this intelligent man corroborated my 
views by stating that the last birds produced by 


230 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


any pair always resemble the female; that where- 
ever in-and-in breeding exists, this resemblance 
is extremely remarkable; that, among bantam 
fowls, the cocks lose their chief characteristic, the 
hackle and streamers, and more resemble the hens; 
that more hens also than cocks are produced, &c.— 
See Plate vim, in which figure 1 represents the 
cock; fig. 2, the hen; and fig. 3, the cock ap- 
proaching the hen in appearance. 

As it is in the close in-and-in practised by the 
breeders of these fowls and of pigeons,—an in-and- 
in, where both parents are of the same family in 
its narrowest sense, that the injurious effects of in- 
and-in breeding are best demonstrated, I avail my- 
self of these examples both to corroborate this 
law and to show the errors which careless breeders 
are apt to commit in their representation of facts.. 

To a breeder, was put the following question. 
« If bantams are bred in-and-in, what effects hap- 
pen to the plumage of the cocks and hens?” ‘The 
breeder’s answer was, “ None to the plumage: all 
our fancy bantams throw chicks black and yellow, 
or white and black.,—-To this Mr. Nash’s reply 
was, “Chicks white and black are what breeders 
term foul birds. The person answering your ques- 
tion is therefore not aware of what are deemed es- 
sential qualities in the bird.” 

The next question put was, “Do the long tail 


—p.loMi ff J AQ OLIA PE WOLT 


o aei e 


maipe 


LAW OF IN-AND-IN BREEDING. 231 


feathers of high-bred cock bantams grow as in 
other cocks?” The breeders answer was, “The 
fancy bantams have no rump hackle, or what are 
called streamers in the tail. Cocks and hens resem- 
ble each other in plumage and all other respects. 
By chance, a long-feathered bird is bred with rump 
hackle and streamers in the tail..—-Mr. Nash’s 
reply was, “It is not wonderful that a breeder 
having such progenitors, should have such a pro- 
geny as described in the answer to your question. 
No cock bantam is perfect who has not the rump 
hackle and streamers.”’ : 

The last question was, “ Are there more hens 
than cocks in such in-and-in broods?” The 
breeder’s answer was, “ This is uncertain: there 
are sometimes more cocks; at other times more 
hens.”—Mr. Nash’s reply was, “ In the closest and 
strictest in-and-in, the hens always predominate ;” 
and he pointed out cases in proof. 

These remarks will show the necessity of care in 
all such inquiries. 

It appears surprising that nearly perfect animals, 
breeding in-and-in, should cause degeneration. 
But the loss of excitement explains it.— T'he repro- 
ductive power is enfeebled ; and upon that, the 
whole organization of the animal depends. HENCE 
NEARLY. PERFECT BEINGS WOULD INEVITABLY DE- 
GENERATE. 


92 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE, 


I formerly stated that organization is nearly 
indestructible; and, from that, iż follows that the 
faulty organization of the whole human race can- 
not easily or soon be got rid of, though individuals 
and families may, and, in proportion to their know- 
ledge, will improve. Improvement of their race 
will be the prerogative of the highest minds, and 
will be more eagerly sought for than ever was the 
improvement of the inferior animal breeds. 

I have now shown that, in the nearly perfect 
animals, who must therefore be proportionally s1- 
milar in all respects, loss of excitement would en- 
sue, the reproductive power, on which the whole 


organization depends, would be enfeebled, and 
therefore nearly perfect beings would inevitably 


degenerate. 

I little dreamed of this when, in early life, I 
listened to the earnest and eloquent arguments of 
the excellent Godwin in behalf of the perfectibility 
of man! 

In considering in-and-in breeding in its intimate 
nature, it is evident that, if close and strict, it 
abandons that method of difference between the 
two conjoined beings, which I have shown to be 
necessary to excitement and reproductive power, 
and adopts the method (not of similarity—for that 1 
have shown to be essential to the production of any 
breed, but) of quasi identity. 


LAW. OF IN-AND-IN BREEDING. 233 


To explain this, let us take one of the strictest 
examples; the reader only bearing in mind—that 
the hypothesis of blood is nonsense—that organi- 
zation takes its place—that that organization is 
propagated in masses—that these masses are two 
in number, namely the anterior and the posterior 
series of organs—and that consequently organiza- 
tion is propagated in halves. 

Let the example be that in which, of the animals 
subjected to in-and-in breeding, the father breeds 
with the daughter, and again with the grand- 
daughter. - Now, it is certain that the father gives 
half his organization to the daughter (suppose the 
anterior series of organs), and so far they are iden- 
tical; but, in breeding with that daughter, he may 
give the other half of his organization to the grand- 
daughter (namely the posterior series of organs), 
and as the grand-daughter will then have both his 
series of organs—the former from the mother and 
the latter from himself, it is evident that there 
exists between the male and his grand-daughter a 
quasi identity. 

I say nothing of the moral antipathy which this 
would produce in intelligent beings, because morals 
have their foundation in physics, and we have no- 
thing here to do with beings of such perceptions. 
I dwell only on the identity being so perfect as 
utterly to destroy all the differences which are _ 


essential to excitement and reproductive power, 


seiate R E 


IZA. LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


the loss of which thus characterizes in-and-in 
breeding. © 

The case of brother and sister breeding together 
is nothing to this. For if the brother has the an- 
terior organs of the mother and the posterior of 
the father, while the sister has the anterior organs 
of the father and the posterior organs of the mother, 
or vice versa, there is scarcely any resemblance be- 
tween them! and if, on the contrary, both have the 
same series of organs from the same parents, then 
are they merely similar, and neither, as in the case 
of grand-father and grand-daughter, quasi identical. 
In the former case, no organ has been communi- 
cated from one to another: in the latter case, every 
organ has been so communicated. 

Now let us see how far the common doctrine 
errs in this respect, by quoting the words of one of 
its ablest followers—Sir John Sebright. 

“s Mr. Meynel’s fox-hounds are likewise quoted 
as an instance of the success of this practice [in- 
and-in breeding]; but, upon speaking to that gen- 
tleman upon the subject, I found that he did not 
attach the meaning that I do, to the term in-and- 
in. He said that he frequently bred from the 
father and the daughter, and the mother and the 
son. This is not what I consider as breeding in- 
and-in; for the daughter is only half of the same 
blood as the father [that is, she is to the extent of 
one half, identical with him !] and will probably 


LAW OF IN-AND-IN BREEDING. 935 


partake, in a great degree, of the properties of the 
mother [she certainly will just to the same ex- 
tent]. 

“Mr. Meynel sometimes breeds from brother 
and sister; this is certainly what may be called a 
little close [I have, in the third paragraph preced- 
ing, shown that they may either be entirely different 
or very similar—that, to adopt the vulgar phrase- 
ology, they may either have no common blood, or 
the whole of it!], but should they both be very 
good, and particularly, should the same defects not 
predominate in both, but the perfections of the one 
promise to correct in the produce the imperfections 
of the other, I do not think it objectionable. [ Now, 
if the one can thus correct the other, they must 
‘have the anterior and posterior organs from dif- 
ferent parents; and it is precisely by putting to- 
gether such pairs that the parents—Herefords and 
Alderneys, &c. are re-formed as Sir John himself 
complains !] Much further than this, the system 
of breeding from the same family cannot, in my 
opinion, be pursued with safety.” [But Sir John 
soon recommends a proceeding, which carries it 
much further. ] 

Speaking of producing variety in a breed, he 
says, “ If the original male and female were of dif- 
ferent families, by breeding from the mother and 
the son, and again from the male produce and the 
mother, and from the father and the daughter in 


A SS RS SE E 


I OS T 


en LS SS ee — ies roca = 
=a CNC Se RENTER gr E 


SS SERS mena 
< Er : - 
Seam = as 


236 LAWS OF. RESEMBLANCE. 


the same way, two families sufäciently distinct 
might be obtained ; for the son is only half of the 
father’s blood, and the produce from the mother 
and the son will be six parts of the mother and 
two of the father.” [There is no such thing as six 
parts of blood, or properly of organization, in the 
production of progeny—the son, as already shown, 
will have half the mother’s organization, and the 
grandson may have the whole, but can have no 
quarters. ] 

I must not here pass over the circumstance, that 
there is, on the part of a distinguished individual, 
my correspondent * * *, a difference of opinion 
as to the effects of in-and-in breeding. Ina letter 
of the 11th January, he writes as follows, in reply 
to the questions prefixed. 

“In in-and-in breeding, where the male and 
female are of the same family, does it not appear, 
that the female always gives the general shape and 
character to the progeny ?”—Answer: “ As far as 
my experience goes, certainly not. My herd of 
cattle is all of the same family, and I should be in- 
clined to say that, with the exception of the pro- 
duce of some very few cows, the produce generally 


are like their sires. The same applies to my flock 


of sheep, and I have bred from rams from the same 
flock in Leicestershire, for fourteen years, which 
flock has not had a cross since the year 1799.” 

It is very evident, that * * * does not use the 


~ 


LAW OF IN-AND-IN BREEDING. 237 


term in-and-in in its common meaning. In-and-in 
applied to cattle, sheep, &c. in its closest applica- 
tion, is, as observed, where the father breeds with 
the daughter, and again with the grand-daughter; 
or the mother with the son, and again with the 
grandson. In the first of these cases, the father 
gives half of his organization (say the locomotive 
system) to the daughter ; and, while this is im- 
parted by her to the grand-daughter, he gives to 
the latter the other half of his organization (namely, 
the vital system). Thus the father and the grand- 
daughter are quasi identical in organization; 
and, in breeding with her, he may be said actually 
to breed with himself. And such is the case with 
the mother and her male progeny. It is from such 
cases that the worst consequences ensue, nor can 
it be wondered at. 

The herd and flock of * * * originated in a 
cross; and the object is not to destroy that success- 
ful cross by a new one, but to maintain it. Both 
herd and flock are numerous, spread over a con- 
siderable surface, and liable to all the variations 
which Mr. Knight and Sir John Sebright describe. 
The operation, therefore, which the latter terms se- 
lection, and which is as far from in-and-in as it is 


from a new cross, is all that is necessary to main- 
tain the good effects of the original cross. 


“In jin-and-in, does the generative power fail 


238 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


first or chiefly in the male?”—Answer: “I have 
not found that it fails in either. In in-and-in breed- 
ing, the breeder must be careful not to use animals 
with bad constitution in their families, or he will 
double the evil ; but if he avoids this, I have never 
perceived any objection to it.” 

This is not to be wondered at in an in-and-in so 
loose or remote as this—amounting in reality to a 
mere case of selection after a cross. 


“In in-and-in, is it the female form and sex 
chiefly that are imparted to the progeny ?”—“ This 
is answered as to form, above. As to sex, my herd 


of cattle are in-and-in bred, and, for the two years 
preceding the present, I have bred two bull-calves 
at least to one cow. The exact numbers are, in 
1835, 1836 and 1837, 172 calves, of which 66 
were females.” 

In a case of selection so obvious, and from the 
magnitude of the herd so likely to be efficient, this 
also is natural. 

“You will perceive that my experience leads me 
to differ very much with some very great authori- 
ties. I may therefore probably be wrong; but itis 
better that I should tell you my own opinion, such 
as it is, than that I should only repeat the opinions 
of others. I differ, I know, very much from most 
people about the mischief of in-and-in breeding. 
But I know that all the great improvements which 


LAW OF IN-AND-IN BREEDING. 239 


have been made in our breeds of domestic animals 
by Bakewell, Culley and Colling, and I have no 
doubt also by Elman, have been effected originally 


by breeding in-and-in, and I believe, by attending 


to the precaution I have referred to in my answer 
to one of your questions [not to use animals with 
bad constitution in their families], it may be safely 
continued, and with much greater certainty of 
producing animals of the shape and qualities de- 
sired, than can be effected in any other way.” 

As already stated, the difference here expressed 
is only an apparent one. 

On this difference as to in-and-in breeding, I 
have only to add that, on explaining to * * * the 
sense in which I use that term, he replied (28, 
February, 1838) “ You are perfectly right in sup- 
posing that I did not understand the term breed- 
ing in-and-in so strictly as you do.” 

Thus crosses have originated most of our good 
breeds; and selection has long maintained them. 
A cross is the operation of a moment compara- 
tively, and, its ends attained, the breeder’s object is 
not to repeat it, but to maintain it; selection, 
which effects this, may and should be the operation 
of many years. | 

The reader, then, has now seen under what cir- 
cumstances the female has been observed to give 
character to progeny—that, in in-and-in, closely 


240 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


and strictly enforced, it is the female form and 
sew chiefly that are imparted to progeny. 

But it is also evident, that in-and-in, closely 
and strictly enforced, is worthless in breeding, be- 
cause it is accompanied by enfeeblement, loss of 
reproductive power, &c. 


The female, however, may also give her locomo- 
tive system, character or shape to progeny, simply 
by being relatively more vigorous; and this was 
probably the foundation of the ancient practice, 
seeing that Virgil says, 


“ Seu quis, Olympiace miratus premia palme, 
Pascit Equos, seu quis fortes ad aratra Juvencos, 
Corpora precipue matrum legat.” 


The great improvement of the Turks in appear- 
ance, is probably not merely the result of their in- 
termarriages with the women of Tschercassia, 
Georgia, &c. but of the fact that polygamy, by en- 
feebling the male, permits the female to stamp her 
form more generally upon the progeny. 

Vast disadvantage, however, must attend this 
method, since it implies the relative debility of the 
male parent. Hence, probably, the Turks are a de- 
generate race. And hence certainly, the general 
superiority of modern horse-breeding, which places 
its trust chiefly in the male parent; for, as I have 
shown, when both sexes are in their highest vigour 


LAW OF IN-AND-IN BREEDING. 241 


and perfection, it is the male that predominates in 
giving the locomotive system, character or shape to 
Progeny, and it is preferable that the female should 
give that system, the vital, which in her is always 
most developed. This is the philosophical basis 
hitherto unassigned of the superiority of the mo- 
dern practice. 


In thus concluding the first three laws, I must 
observe, that I have rested my inferences on no 
hypothetical views, but on the following facts :— 

Ist. I have shown, by the most indisputable evi- 
dence, that, in selection from the same variety, the 
father sometimes gives the locomotive system and 
backhead, and the mother the vital system and 
forehead (which is generally preferable, because it 
is in these systems respectively that each excels) ; 
as well as that the mother sometimes gives the lo- 
Comotive system and backhead, and the father the 
vital system and forehead. 

Here, then, in regard to a subsequent question 
of Mr, Knight, as to the communication of life,—if 


life be the function of the vital system, it may be 
given by either parent, though I should think that 
dependent on the preceding volition which arouses 
the first sensation.—But be that as it may—here 


M 


249 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


are indisputable proofs of the parents communicat- 
ing their organization in two totally opposite suc- 
cessions and combinations, which faithful drawings 
render evident to every one. 

2ly. I have shown that, in strong crosses, if the 
male parent be merely as young and vigorous as 
the female, the male always gives the locomotive 
system, the female, the vital system (which is also 
as it should be, for the reason above assigned) ; 
and this is exemplified from the mulatto and sambo 
down to the goldfinch and canary mule, or the skeg- 


ger, as drawings also show. 
Sly. I have shown that, in in-and-in breeding, 


long continued, the female gives the locomotive 
system, the male, the vital system (which is at- 
tended with the disadvantage above explained) ; 
as is shown in bantams, &c. 

Thus we have, I will not say life, for that is 
merely a general term, but the two series of organs 
on which both life and locomotion respectively de- 
pend, in two opposite successions and combinations 
—variably in beings of the same variety, and inva- 
riably both in different varieties (crosses), and 
when closely and long restricted to one family (in- 
and-in). 

In this, I trust to nothing but facts, which can 
be represented on paper, and the truth of which the 
eyes will declare without even troubling the judg- 


ment. 


IV. Law or Sex. 


There is another great distinction to be ac- 
counted for, namely the DISTINCTION OF sEx. This 
is as closely connected with the nutritive, as the 
distinction of mind is with the thinking system. 

The consideration of life in some of its re- 
lations, is here a necessary preliminary; and as I 
have the most profound respect for the experiments 
and opinions of Mr. Knight (expressed in letters, 
24, November, and 1 and 29, December), they may 
not be passed over unnoticed. 


“I have ascertained,” he says, “by many experi- 


ments, some of them perfectly decisive of the ques- 
tion, that a plant may have two, and I believe i 
many more male parents .. . that is, each is in 
part the parent of the offspring.” He adds, 
“ When I have introduced the pollen of a coloured 
pea and of a white pea into the blossom of a white 
pea, I have found some of the peas of the same pod 
to afford white, and some coloured offspring; but 
whether any of these were of common parentage, I 
am not prepared to say. 

“ I proceed to state an experiment made upon 
dogs, which appears to me of considerable weight. 
The experiment, however, as I saw little utility to 
be derived from it, was only once made: I have 

M 2 


244 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


rarely engaged in any experiment where I did not ex- 
pect to derive some immediately useful information. 
—I had a female spaniel, a perfectly canine Messa- 
_ lina, which, contrary to what ‘is common amongst 
\ animals of that species, was no more disposed to 
\ grant favours to one suitor than to another. I first 


put to her one dog, a terrier, with broken, rough, 
strong, grey hair, and I instantly afterwards intro- 
duced a springing spaniel, whose colour was white, 
with dark liver-coloured spots of large width. 
The female was of a light liver-colour. Many 
puppies were the produce of the experiment; the 
greater part of which appeared to be obviously the 
offspring of the terrier [the male parent, according 
to my preceding law of crossing]; but two appeared 
to be perfect spaniels very similar in colour and 
character to their supposed male parent. These 
were reared; but as they grew, they gradually ac- 
quired more and more of the mongrel character; 
their temper was not that of spaniels, and they 
were quite worthless. They had, in short, terrier 
blood to some extent in their veins . . . The cir- 
cumstance of each dog having apparently affected 
the character of all the offspring, is scarcely con- 
sistent with the hypothesis which assumes the 
first organized point to be [in any case] given 
by the male, as two males cannot jointly give it. 
I am,: therefore, much disposed to believe that 


LAW OF SEX: 245 


the male only modifies that which was previously 
formed. 

« I am wedded to the opinion, that nature acts with 
uniformity in the way in which life, or the power of 
acquiring an independent existence, is given to the 
first organized point, or, as I may better express it, 
the first organization. I cannot believe that life is 
sometimes given by the male, and sometimes by the 
female parent. In everything which has come 
under my observation in experiments upon plants, 
nature, in all cases (subject to infinite variety of 
structure) has accomplished all its objects by the 
most simple means. The seed-vessel is in some 
cases very distinct from the point to which the pol- 


lenis applied. In the colchicum autumnale, the 
distance is not less than twelve inches, and the long 
thread is very slender. A glutinous fluid is 
emitted, into which the globules of pollen fall and 
explode; this fluid is re-absorbed by the plant; 
and the seed acquires its proper organization and 
powers. The transmission of an organized body 


through the long slender thread above described, 
appears an awkward process, dissimilar to those 
usually employed by nature; and I conceive that. 
when a plant or animal is the offspring of two male 
parents, the female parent must give the first or- 
ganized body. I cannot avoid believing that this 


46 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


is done in the eggs of birds and spawn of fish and 
insects. ‘The liquid of the male silkworm operates 
upon the eggs after being laid.” 

With these views, of the first organization being 
given by the female, and life being given by the 
male, Mr. Knight very beautifully says, «Were I 
to be born again, I should wish to descend, as I do 
on my mother’s side, from a healthy race, whose 
station in society had been through many genera- 
tions, a little above that of peasants, and from a 
father whose mind, as that of his ancestry, had 
been much exercised in arguments of various 
kinds.” 

First, then, it appears to me that the making of 
life an essence, a thing per se, a sort of unneces- 
sary second soul, is not in the spirit of advancing 
philosophy. It is in the same spirit, indeed, that 
some speak of the matter of electricity, the matter 
of galvanism; but I think I refuted that notion, 
above twenty years ago, in Thomson’s Annals of 
Philosophy, by showing that these are merely the 
actions of well-known elements—those namely of 
atmospheric air and of water. 

Life is not a thing, but merely a general term, 
expressing the aggregate of the actions of the 
tubular organs of plants and animals. In repro- 
duction, therefore, there is nothing to be given ex- 


LAW OF SEX. C47 


clusively either by the male or the female. ‘The 
first act of life in the new being 1s apparently 
the result of the mutual relation and influence of 
the otherwise inactive things or molecules given 
by each. One molecule with opposite poles may 
attract the corresponding poles of another; a ring 
may thus be formed ; and ring added to ring may 
form a tube, &c. &c. &e. But, to shun hypotheses, 
whatever these inactive things or molecules may 
be, a globule of pollen, or a drop of albumen, it is 
evident that the more passive one, whether of the 
male or of the female, will be more readily asso- 
ciated with sensation than volition, because the 
former of these necessarily implies impression re- 
ceived by it from something else, and that the 
more active one will be more readily associated 
with volition, because that as necessarily implies 
motion communicated by it to something else. 
And as life is inseparable from sensation (hence 
the vital organs, the viscera of the trunk, go with 
the organs of sense); so is motion inseparable 
from volition (hence the locomotive organs, the 
muscles, &c. go with the organ of volition, the 
cerebel). Life is, therefore, the result, not of soli- 
tary, but of mutual action; and power, and per- 


haps precedence, in whatever parent it may occur, 
communiéates that motion which impresses and 
gives sensation, or in other words, originates life. 


248 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


On this subject, a general consideration of the 
embryo seeds of plants and ova of animals may 
mislead. We are apt to think there is something 
more in these comparatively large bodies than in 
one globule of pollen, or in a seminal aura or ver- 
micule; but this is not at all probable. The 
former is larger and of obvious and definite form, 
because it contains not only the female reproduc- 
tive atom, but the matter that nourishes both 
atoms, the cotyledon, or yolk, and, in some cases, 
the liquid in which they swim, &e. The globule 
of pollen of the colchicum autumnale, or a molecule 
from the exploded globule, is probably as large and 
as efficient as the female molecule with which it 
combines. It will prevent mistake on that head, 
to compare the mass of the hen’s egg with its 
punctum saliens, which comprises molecules both 
of the male and the female. 

The supposition of two male parents may possi- 
bly be a source of error on this subject.—If the 
case of the white and the coloured peas be one of 
the most distinct proofs that a plant may have two 
male parents, that statement must, I imagine, be 
made with great modification; for it seems only to 
prove that any pea in the same pod may have a 
distinct male parent, and Mr. Knight, indeed, 
“ doubts if any one was of common parentage,” — 
As to the case of the terrier and spaniel, the pro- 


LAW OF SEX. 249 


bability seems to be that all the puppies were the 
progeny of the terrier; that the majority resembled 
the male parent, according to the law of crossing 
which I have announced; and that two resembled 
the female parent, receiving from her, not from the 
springing spaniel, their character and colour. 


These had the terrier’s temper, because they de- 


rived the least apparent portion of their organiza- 
tion, the vital system, from him; and if those, like 
the terrier in general character, had been reared, 
they would, to similar extent, have been found to 
‘resemble the spaniel mother, because they also de- 
rived the least apparent portion of their organiza- 
tion, the vital system, from her. If the spaniel 
looking puppies had even perfectly resembled in 
colour the springing spaniel, that would be easily 
explicable without the supposition of two fathers, 
by the mere influence of the springing spaniel’s 
colour on the mother’s imagination (as half granted 
in the following paragraph by Mr. Knight him- 
self); for there are various proofs that the colour 
of a dog may so operate upon the imagination of a 
bitch in the state of cestrum as to influence the co- 
lour of her progeny, he himself being carefully 
secluded from all sexual connexion with her. 

Mr. Knight, however, has some doubts at least 
as to the double male parentage of animals; for 
(16, April) he says, “ The result of some expe- 

M 5 


250 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


riments which I made many years ago satisfied me 
that an animal offspring might have two male 
parents; but the influence of the quagga, in the 
case of Lord Morton’s mares, has to some extent 
excited doubts.” * 

So far, therefore, the first organized point must 
still be given by one male parent—must be one 
and indivisible; and thus power and perhaps prece- 
dence, in whatever parent it may occur, communi- 
cates that motion which impresses and gives sensa- 


tion, or originates life. 
Even superfoetation, or the production of dis- 
tinct offspring by a second male parent, “ Cassan,” 


says Beck, “considers possible only, 1, where there 
is a perfect double uterus; 2, where there is a pre- 
existing extra-uterine pregnancy ; and 3, when there 
is a new conception before the fecundating germ 
has occupied the cavity of the uterus. The expe- 
riments of Haller, Hunter and Haighton, and 
more recently of Home, John Burns and Magen- 
die, prove that the ovum sometimes does not 
descend into the matrix until eight, fifteen, or even 
twenty days after fecundation.” 


a ee 


Ta 


EREE 


* Infact, the interference of male parents is impossible : 
nature has carefully provided against it. Where salacity 
would endanger this, as in dogs, the male remains until 
the opening to the matrix has closed (a fact not hitherto 
understood): when a dog is “choked off,” there is no 
progeny. 


Saupe 
ee 


Pa es 


— 


LAW OF SEX. 


But let us look to the facts on this subject. 
« A case,” says Beck, “ mentioned by Buffon, 
has been often quoted by the enemies and advo- 


cates of superfcetation. A female at Charleston, in 
South Carolina, was delivered, in 1714, of twins 
within a very short time of each other. One was 
found to be black, and the other white. This 
variety of colour led to an investigation; and the 
female confessed, that on a particular day, imme- 
diately after her husband had left his bed, a negro 
entered her room, and, by threatening to murder 
her if she did not consent, had connexion with her.” 

Now it is well known, that the offspring of a 
black and a white may be either black, or white, or 
mixed, or even spotted. It is therefore evident 
that, in this case, both children may have been the 
progeny of the negro. 

«Dr. Moseley,” says Beck, “‘ mentions the 
following as occurring within his time, at Short- 
wood estate, in the island of Jamaica. ‘ A negro 
woman brought forth two children at a birth, 
both of a size; one of which was a negro, and the 
other a mulatto. On being interrogated upon the 
occasion of their dissimilitude, she said she per- 
fectly well knew the cause of it, which was, that a 
white man belonging to the estate came to her hut 
one morning before she was up, and she suffered 
his embraces almost instantly after her black hus- 


A5 oh LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


band had quitted her.”—Here, both were probably 
the children of the white man. 

« The following is, I believe, the most remark- 
able case yet recorded. ‘ It was communicated to 
me,’ says Dr. Walsh, ‘by the Sargenté Mor of the 
St. Jose gold-district (Brazil). A creole woman, 
with whom he was acquainted, in the neighbour- 
hood, had three children at a birth, of three differ- 
ent colours, white, brown, and black, with all the 
features of the respective classes.’ ” 

If by “brown” here were meant tawny or the 
usual mulatto colour, a negro might have produced 
the whole. But if, “the respective classes,” is 
meant to imply a European, an Indian, and an 
African father ! it is a great absurdity. 

“It is urged,” says Beck, “ that shortly after 
conception, the os tince, as well as the internal 
apertures of the fallopian tubes, are closed by the 
deposition of a thick tenacious mucus. The mem- 
brana decidua 1s also formed early, and lines the 
uterus, and thus co-operates with the mucus, in 
obliterating the openings into its cavity. 

“ When [in a more advanced stage] the gravid 
uterus enlarges, the fallopian tubes lie parallel to 


its sides, instead of running in a transverse direc- 
tion to the ovaria, as in the unimpregnated state. 
If then an embryo be generated, the tubes could 
not embrace the ovum, and it would remain in the 


LAW OF SEX. 253 


ovarium, or fall into the abdomen, and thus con- 
stitute an extra uterine conception, ; 

“« But again, it is said that, even if we allow the 
practicability of the new embryo reaching the 
uterus, its arrival would be destructive to the 
foetus already present. The functions which have 
already been performed for the first conception 
have now to be repeated, and an additional decidua 
and placenta are to be formed. 


« An appeal, however, is made to cases, where, 
as we have already stated, two or more children of 
different sizes, and apparently of different ages, 
are born nearly at the same time, or at a longer 


interval. 

« It will be observed that, in one class of in- 
stances, the lesser child is represented as dead and 
decayed, and its size is much smaller than the ac- 
companying birth. Now, in these, it is suggested 
that twins have been conceived, and that the em- 
barrassed situation of one child in the matrix may 
have prevented its developement, checked its nu- 
trition, and thus caused its death. The other, on 
the contrary, lives and grows, presses on the dead 
one, which becomes flattened, or wholly or partly 
putrefied; and in this condition, both may be ex- 
pelled at the same time, or one may be detained 
for some time after the other.—It is evident that 
this explanation puts aside the idea of superfecta- 
tion. 


254 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


«There yet remain some cases which require 
explanation. It has been attempted to give this, 
by supposing that a double uterus was present. 
‘This is far from being as rare as was at one time 
supposed.” 

The next preliminary circumstance to be noticed 
is Mr. Knight’s supposed paramount influence of 
the female parent over sex. 

“The female parent’s influence upon the sex of 
the offspring in cows,” says he (1, December), “and 
I have reason to believe, in the females of our 
other domesticated quadrupeds, is so strong [and 
if in them, of course, in woman], that it may, I 
think, be pronounced nearly positive; but I doubt 
its being quite independent of external causes, 
operating, however, upon the female alone.” 

In the Philosophical Transactions, 1809, Mr. 
Knight says, “ In several species of domesticated 
animals (I believe in all), particular females are 
found to produce a majority of their offspring of 
the same sex; and I have proved repeatedly, that, 
by dividing a herd of thirty cows into three equal 
parts, I could calculate with confidence upon a 
large majority of females from one part, of males 
from another, and upon nearly an equal number of 
males and females from the remainder. I fre- 
quently endeavoured to change the habits by chang- 
ing the male, without success.” 


LAW OF SEX. 255 


In a letter of the 22d of May, Mr. Knight says, 
“I saw my relation Sir John Sebright, who has made, 
at different periods, a great variety of experiments 
upon breeding animals; and he informed me that 
he had latterly made many experiments with the 
object of testing my opinion, that the female parent 
gives the sex to the offspring, and that the results 
of his experiments wholly agree with mine.” 

Mr. Blaine says, “some dogs, some stallions, 
and some bulls, are remarked for begetting a greater 
number of males than females; while others are 
the parents of more females than males.”—This 
might be supposed to imply predominance on either 
side. 


As to mankind, he observes, that, “in King’s 


Langley church, are the effigies of seven succes- 
sive daughters born to a man by his first wife, and 
of seven sons born to him by a second wife, in 
succession.” —This also might be supposed to imply 
predominance on either side. 

In a letter from Sir Anthony Carlisle, he says, 
“ I am intimate with a family in which the father 
and mother had only two children, a son and a 
daughter, who each married into families not re- 
lated to either party, and have had fifteen daugh- 
ters without one son—viz. eight by the son, and 
seven by the daughter.”—This might be thought 
to look as if daughter-begetting were a prerogative 
of the family. 


256 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE, 


In the Philosophical Transactions, 1787, men- 
tion is made of a gentleman who was the youngest 
of forty sons, all produced in succession, from 
three different wives, by one father, in Ireland.—— 
Here, assuredly, son-begetting seems to be a pre- 
rogative of the father. 

Mr. Knight himself exempts mules from the 
maternal influence, which he supposes to operate 
in other cases. He says (1, December), “ Respect- 
ing mule ducks, though the eggs would have pro- 
duced nearly an equal number of male and female 
offspring, if the common drake had been the parent, 
the eggs produced six out of seven (sometimes 
less) of male offspring, when the musk drake was 
the parent. I observed the same occurrence in 
mule birds, the offspring of the male goldfinch, and 
the female canary bird.”—-Now, as I regard mules 
as only a cross in ewcess, this is perfectly conform- 
able with my views. 

As to the influence of external causes, it is very 
likely to affect the relative abundance or energy of 
their means of reproduction on whichever parent 
it directly operates. 


In support of that influence as operating directly 
on the female parent, Mr. Knight (23, November, 
and 1 and 4, December) says, “I have stated a 
case in the Philosophical Transactions, in which 
two cows brought all female offspring, one fourteen 


LAW OF SEX. 257 


in fifteen years, and the other fifteen in sixteen 
years, though I annually changed the bull. Both, 
however, produced one male each, and that in the 
same year; and I confidently expected, when the 
one produced a male, that the other would, as she 
did.”—To me this case does not prove that the 
female was the parent influenced. 

“ Huber discovered that, if the period of the 
queen-bee’s impregnation was retarded, all the 
eggs afforded male offspring; and that the eggs 
last laid by the queen-bee produced male offspring 
only. All the last laid eggs of the queen-wasp 
afford either male, or efficient female, offspring, 
that is, females capable of living through winter 
after receiving the male, and of laying eggs in the 
following spring. Bees, moreover, can take any 
egg, which would have produced a labouring bee, 
and make an efficient queen of it, provided the egg 


be not more than three days old.” 


It must be observed that, in the retarded im- 
pregnation of the queen-bee, her reproductive 
functions are not more retarded than are those of 
the males ; and the male progeny might therefore 
be supposed to arise from either cause. The state- 
ment, that, even in ordinary cases, the last laid eggs, 
or the second laying, produce male offspring only, 
leaves it equally uncertain which is affected. 

“I have, in the Philosophical Transactions, 


252 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


stated the fact of cucumber and melon- plants 
affording all male blossom, if vegetation be accele- 
rated by heat, and all female, from the same points, 
if the progress of vegetation be retarded by cold.— 
Nature, in vegetable life, deals more in transmuta- 
tion than in primary distinct formations. A leaf- 
bud becomes a flower-bud, and the blossom of the 
apple is formed out of five embryo leaves, the points 
of which form the eye of the apple. Every bunch 
of grapes is a tendril first, and may be made to act 
as such. I have witnessed all the changes in this 
and other cases of similar kinds.” 

These are indisputable proofs of the power of 
external influences; but it is necessary to be care- 
ful in reasoning from such phenomena in the lower 
beings, as in them reproduction is more exposed to 
external influence; an important part of the repro- 
ductive process being in some of them performed 
externally. It seems to me most probable that 
in the higher animals, these influences act only at 
the moment of reproduction, as well as that they 
may act on either parent. Hence the power which 
has been already noticed, apparently either of 
female or male over sex. They probably affect 
the nutritive system, by increasing the abundance 
of sexual secretion, in the male or female parent. 

Among the Greeks, Empedocles, Epicurus, and 
various other physiologists, in the doctrine of epige- 


LAW OF SEX. 259 


nesis, endeavoured to show that parents respec- 
tively contribute reproductive fluids which co-ope- 
rate in generation, and stamp the foetus male or 
female, as either is more copious. 

Such was the opinion of many of the ancients ; 
and Lucretius says, 


“ Et muliebre oritur patrio de semine seclum ; 


Maternoque mares exsistunt corpore cretei. 

Semper enim partus duplici de semine constat : 
Atque, utri simile est magis id, quodcumque creatur, 
Ejus habet plus parte equa, quod cernere possis, 
Sive virûm suboles, sive est muliebris origo.” 


This certainly would accord with a statement 
often made, that the male, having in youth and old 
age, less power over the produce of conception 
than at the period of his force or of his greatest 
manhood, the female at those times obtains the pre- 
ponderance, the result being that more girls are 
then born; whilst, on the contrary, the proportion 
of boys is greater during the time that man is in 
his flourishing period of life. 

It would accord also with the fact, that, in poly- 
gamous nations, more female than male children 
are produced. 

It would accord likewise with the report of most 
breeders, that, when the male is most vigorous, 
most males are produced. 


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260 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


It would accord, moreover, with the conclusion 
drawn from some experiments lately made in 
France on sheep, by which it appears that sex de- 
pends, in some measure, on the comparative vigour 
of the parents. 

Even, in hybrid plants, Koelreuter says, he has 
produced or diminished paternal resemblance by 
increasing the quantity of impregnating dust. 

Now, all of these facts appear to be valuable; 
but previous to an acurate appreciation of them, or 
deriving from them ali the aid they are capable of 
giving in determining the law of sex, it is neces- 
sary to state an important fact which has been 
hitherto unobserved, and which indeed could not 
be observed so long as it was not known, that one 
parent gave to progeny the vital system, and the 
other, the locomotive system. 

It is this, that though, in the same variety, the 
male parent may give the vital system to progeny, 
yet it may have the female sex; and, though the 
female parent may give the vital system, it may 
have the male sex. 

This is a remarkable fact, because the organs of 
sex and reproduction are mere appendages of the 
vital system. Like the rest of that system, they 
are tubular organs, which transmit or transmute 
liquids, and which act by a pulsating or peristaltic 
motion. ‘The testes and ovaria, in fact, are glands 


LAW OF SEX. 261 


—an important portion of those which properly 
constitute the third order of vital organs. 

It seems strange, then, that the parent giving 
the vital system, should not invariably give the 
sex. It looks, at first, as if one portion of the vital 
system could be dislocated from another; and there 
appears no reason for anything so contrary to pre- 
vailing analogy. 

There is here, however, no irregularity ; and the 
parent giving the vital system, primarily at least, 
gives the reproductive one. 

To explain this, let me observe, that all vital and 
locomotive action has been observed to depend on 
nervous action.—Locomotive action generally de- 
pends upon conscious sensation and volition; for 
which purposes the sensitive fibres ascend to 
the brain, and the voluntary fibres descend from 
the cerebel. But the sensations of the vital sys- 
tem, being generally unconscious ones, and its mo- 
tions generally involuntary, it obtains a new and 
totally distinct nervous system of its own, which is 
called the sympathetic system—its nerves of un- 
conscious sensation arising from all points of the 
vital organs, and terminating in small knots or 
little brains, called ganglia, situated about the 
central parts of the trunk, generally near to the 
spine, and its nerves of involuntary motion pro- 
ceeding from these little brains, and terminating 


in the same points of the vital organs. 


962 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


Now, as all the parts of the vital system are 
under the immediate control of this new and dis- 
tinct nervous apparatus, having its own ascending 
and descending fibres, which regulate its own re- 
ceivings and givings (just as the receivings and 
givings of the general system, its sensitive and 
voluntary actions, were regulated by its ascending 
and descending fibres), it will be seen to be the in- 
terference of this new apparatus that causes the 
seeming independence of sex on the vital system. 
The communication of female sex which receives, 
and that of male sex which gives, are now respec- 
tively as much dependent on the nerves which pro- 
ceed to the ganglia, and those which proceed from 
them, as sensation and volition are respectively de- 
pendent on the fibres which ascend to the brain, 
and those which descend from the cerebel. 

If there be any doubt as to the strict analogy 
between the powers of these two nervous systems, 
let it be observed, that, as general action is de- 
pendent on the greater nervous system, vital action 
is dependent on the less or sympathetic system; 
that, as the greater nervous system operates by the 
levers of the locomotive system upon external 
bodies, the less nervous system operates by the 


tubes of the vital system upon internal ones, 
namely, the contents of these tubes; that, as ex- 
ternal bodies are the subjects of sensation and voli- 


LAW OF SEX. 263 


tion in the former case, so the contents of these 


tubes are the subjects of absorption and secretion 
in the latter; and that, if the less or sympathetic 
system did not thus regulate absorption and secre- 


tion, in lieu and independently of the greater sys- 
tem, it would be useless. 

From all this, it will be seen that, according to 
the particular receiving or giving action—in this 
case the absorbing or secreting power, of the vital 
system, it will, independent of that general commu- 
nication of that system to the new being, and de- 
pendent only on its own internal relations, regu- 
lated by its own nervous system, confer the receiv- 
ing or the giving sex. Thus the parent giving the 
vital system, will also give the sex, whether that 
differ from its own or not. The male, accordingly, 
may give either male or female sex; and the 
female the same. 

In doing this, it would, from all that has been 
said, appear, that as, in the general character, the 
predominance of sensation or volition depends on 
the relative energy of the parent, and mediately per- 
haps on that of his reproductive liquid,* so in sex, 


* «e The employment of the masculine organs being a 
secretion,” says Friedlander, “its results, like those of 
similar operations, necessarily depend on the sensibility 
of the active and animated filters that perform them ; 
and if the saliva is more powerful when the secretion is 


264 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


the distinction of male or female depends on the 
relative quantity of that liquid. On nothing, in- 
deed, can it so rationally depend as on that which 
is most identical with the being which gives it. 
When the reproductive liquid of the male, there- 
fore, is most abundant, he, if he give the vital sys- 
tem, will give the male sex, and when least so, the 


female—a conclusion supported by all we know 
both among men and animals as to masculine 
energy and its results. So also when the repro- 
ductive liquid of the female is most abundant, she, 
if she give the vital system, will give the female 
sex, and when least so, the male—a conclusion 
which is also supported by the case of women in 
polygamous nations, and that of female animals 
when the female parent is relatively strong, when 
in-and-in breeding takes place, &c. 

In both cases, it will be observed, that each sex, 
giving the opposite one when its reproductive means 
is scantiest, will coincide with the more abundant 
reproductive means of the opposite sex, so that 


rendered more abundant by hunger or the presence of any 
desired aliment, if tears are burning when produced by 
acute sorrow or mechanical irritation, if the saliva be. 
comes venomous in some animals when they are angry, if 
several other secretions become exalted or changed in their 
naiure when the organs are powerfully excited, can we 
suppose that the elaboration of the seminal liquid is not 
subjected to the same laws ?” 


LAW OF SEX. 265 


males will appear to give males, and females, fe- 
males, even when they do not at all give the vital 
System on which it depends. 

Of this doctrine, there is a remarkable confirma- 
tion in the fact, that, when, in boys, it is the fa- 
ther’s vital system which is communicated, as ob- 
servation will easily show, the external reproductive 
organs, in the child, will be seen obviously to re- 
semble those of the father; but when, in boys, it is 
the mother’s vital system which is communicated, 
the child’s external reproductive organs will be 
found to have no such resemblance to the father’s: 
they are consequently derived, along with the vital 
system, exclusively from the mother. This very 
curious and remarkable fact throws a totally new 
light on the production of sex. 

The law of sex, therefore, appears to be, that 
either sex is, along with the general vital system, 
given by either parent, in dependence only on these 
internal relations of that system. 

I may here notice two circumstances connected 


with generation, which are illustrated by cases of 
twins. 


The mental and physiognomical character of pro- 
geny seems generally to depend upon a single im- 
pulse, as there is generally a remarkable unity or 
resemblance of character in twins. 

Dr. Robert Lee, Dr. Sweatman, and Mr. Hal- 


N 


266 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


lion, inform me that twins are generally alike in 
physiognomical character, especially if of the same 
Sex. 

This observation is also popular.—“ Is this,” 
says Mary to Catherine Seyton, in the Abbot, “ thy 
twin-brother as like thee in form and features as for- 
merly ?” 

Dr. Copland has mentioned to me a case lately 
in the Middlesex Hospital, of twins of the same 
sex, both alike, and both having an enlargement of 
the spleen—by no means a common disease in 
children. 

A not less curious case of adult female twins oc- 
curred, in which both escaped restraint the same 
night, both were got with child, and both brought 
forth female progeny. 

The sexual character of progeny is less fre- 
quently the same—doubtless because the more or 
less abundant secretion on which it depends, is di- 
visible in various degrees. 

Dr. Collins, in his Midwifery, gives a table con- 
taining 240 cases of twins, of which 140 were of 
the same sex, and 100 of different sexes. Here, of 
the same sex, there is a predominance of 40; and it 
may fairly be said that there is a tendency toward 
the same sex. 


CIRCUMSTANCES MODIFYING THESE LAWS. 267 


V. Law or MATERNAL NUTRITION. 


A certain degree of likeness generally pervades 
the countenances of all the children of a family. 

At first sight, it would seem that there should be 
no resemblance between those children who have 
the father’s forehead and mother’s backhead, and 
those who have the father’s backhead and the mo- 
ther’s forehead, for they have no part in common. 
—But such resemblance exists. 

On close and frequent observation, it will be seen 
that this resemblance is always a maternal one, or 
has a maternal character; and it is doubtless de- 
rived from the circumstance that the whole of the 
children of a family, are, previous to birth, nurtured 
by the same mother, and generally suckled by her 
afterwards. 

This resemblance, accordingly, disappears where 
children have at once the opposite organization and 
different mothers. 


SECTION ILI. 


Circumstances MODIFYING THESE Laws. 


Some modifications are dependent on age. 
It may, in the first place, be observed, that no 
N2 


ad 


268 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


child greatly resembles its parents at birth; and 
that the similarity of its features to those of its 
father or mother, is greatly increased as it increases 
in growth. 

In various states of the developement of functions, 
a child will even resemble one parent more at one 
time, and the other at another time. 

Every child, however, even at birth, resembles 
most the parent who gives the forehead and organs 
of sense, and gradually becomes liker the other pa- 
rent as it advances in life, because the reaction of 
the cerebel is then more manifested. 

A child is most like the parents after puberty, 
both because this is the age at which the child be- 
gins to resemble the adult, and because the phy- 
siognomical character is then fixed. 

Some modifications are dependent on sex. 

As the backhead is proportionally smaller in wo- 
man than in man, its size, when communicated by 
the former to a male child, is always exaggerated. 

Some modifications are dependent on the in- 
fluence of the new parts added by the other parent. 


If to a given forehead, a more projecting back- 
head and cerebel be added, the forehead will, in the 
progeny, be elevated and projected. 

The influence of the cerebel in elevating the 
forehead, is evidently exerted through the cere- 
bellic ring, &c.—as will appear from my work on 
«The Nervous System.” 


CIRCUMSTANCES MODIFYING THESE LAWS. 269 


If, to a given forehead, a broader backhead and 
cerebel be added, the forehead in the progeny will 
be broadened—by similar means. 

If to a round face, a more projecting backhead 
and cerebel be added, the face will, in the progeny, 
be elongated and projected inferiorly. 

The influence of the cerebel in lengthening the 
face, is probably exerted through the facial volun- 
tary nerves. 

If to a narrow face, a broader backhead and ce- 
rebel be added, the face, in the progeny, will be 
broadened—by similar means. 

The influence of the cerebel over the muscular 
parts of the face falls under the first law of resem- 
blance, and was there described. | 

The nose, I should, however, observe, sometimes 
presents an apparent anomaly. Not only may one 
parent modify the form of that organ as given by the 
other, at its more moveable extremity, but, in some 
instances, the middle part of the nose, by the in- 
fluence of the new combination of organs, rises, or 
falls (I should rather say, retains through life its 
infantile form), so as to deviate from both parents. 

There are children, we are told, who do not re- 
semble their father but their grandfather; and 


there are nephews who resemble their uncles or aunts. 
This fact has been noticed by Lucretius— 


“ Fit quoque ut interdum similes existere avorum 
Possint, et referant proavorum sepe figuras ; 


LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


Propterea quia multa modis primordia multis 
Mista suo celant in corpore sæpe parentes, 


Quæ patribus patres tradunt à stirpe profecta. 
Inde Venus varia producit sorte figuras, 
Majorumque refert voltus, vocesque, comasque.” 


The term Atavism has been adopted to describe 
this appearance, prevailing throughout animal 
races, and by some supposed to prevail among 
plants. M. De Candolle, however, does not con- 
sider the latter fact as fully established, but thinks 
it probable from analogy, and as serving, if true, 
to explain some remarkable appearances. 

On this subject, Dr. Pritchard says, “In general 
the peculiarities of the individual are transmitted 
to his immediate descendants: in other instances, 
they have been observed to re-appear in a subse- 
quent generation, after having failed, through the 
operation of some circumstances quite inexplicable, 
to show themselves in the immediate progeny.” 

“Nor less ¢newplicable,” says Dr. M. Good, “ is 
the generative power of transmitting peculiarities 
of talents, of form, or of defects in a long line of 
hereditary descent, and occasionally of suspending 
the peculiarity through a link or two, or an indi- 


vidual or two, with an apparent capriciousness, and 
then of exhibiting it once more in full vigour. The 
vast influence, which this recondite, but active 
power possesses, as well over the mind as the body, 


CIRCUMSTANCES MODIFYING THESE LAWS. 271 — 


cannot, at all times, escape the notice of the most 
inattentive. Not only are wit, beauty and genius 
propagable in this manner, but dulness, madness 
and deformity of every kind.” 


Mr. Blaine observes, that “if it were not for 


the irregularities which occasionally occur by men- 
tal influence, we might be led to conclude, that a 
family character was originally imprinted on the 
reproductive organs, or that the ova or germs of the 
future race were formed after one common here- 
ditary mould; for it is often observed, not. only 
among dogs, but among other domestic animals, 
and even in man, that their progeny bear a greater 
resemblance to the grandam or grandfather than 
to their immediate parents . - . This tendency is 
greatest in the accidental varieties or breeds, in 
which a few succeeding generations are sufficient to 
destroy all appearances of variation from the 
original; but in breeds more nearly approaching 
the original, as well as such as have been long es- 
tablished, it requires a much longer time wholly to 
degenerate them. The tendency to resume the 
original type is, however, inherent in all our do- 
mestic animals, and in none more than the dog ; 
and judicious efforts employed to counteract this 
property form a principal part of the art of success- 
ful breeding in rural economy.” 

The resemblance of a child to its grandfather or 


LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


grandmother, or to its uncle or aunt, has in it 
nothing mysterious; but depends upon one of its 
parents introducing a tendency to some feature, a 
thicker or thinner lip, a longer or shorter nose, and 
darker or lighter eye, which was lost in the parent 
more immediately connected with those relatives, 
and which, now again introduced, calls into action 
modifications of form and function which in that pa- 
rent were at least rendered subordinate, and conse- 
quently obscure, by other and more dominating ones. 
—As to the tendency among domesticated animals, 
mentioned by Mr. Blaine, it is a mere re-formation of 
the original breeds by man without his being aware 
of it, as has been already explained; and it is very 


natural that it should be least observed in breeds 
which are likest the original. 


, 


“The ancients,” says Camper, “ thought that 
the child was susceptible, solely through the effects 
ofthe mother’s imagination, of acquiring a likeness 
to. a particular individual at the very moment of 
conception, although they were not otherwise ig- 
norant of the fact, that fecundation takes place un- 
known to the parents. The moderns have carried 
this power of the imagination still further: they 
have maintained even obstinately that the child 
already conceived may be injured or modified by 
the mother’s imagination, even up to the moment 
of the birth” . . . The: human race,” adds Cam- 


CIRCUMSTANCES MODIFYING THESE LAWS. 273 


per, “would indeed be much to be pitied, if the 
fate of children depended on the foolish, depraved, 
and frequently insane imagination of the father or 
mother.” 

For the likeness of a child to one who should 
not have been the father, it would be very fair to 
admit the reason, that the mother’s imagination 
was occupied with him at the moment of concep- 
tion, though it might be ridiculous enough to re- 
gard that as a sufficient excuse for the resemblance. 
But as to the modern notion of the influence of 
imagination, it is not so destitute of foundation as 
Camper supposes. 

Roussel remarks, that “ children have been sub- 
ject all their lives to convulsions, in consequence 


of their mothers having been, during pregnancy, 


struck with terror or some other powerful emotion. 
Haller, indeed, observed that, from the want of 
nerves to establish a communication between the 
mother and the foetus,—nerves which are the only 
means by which the movements of the mind can 
be transmitted, the mother cannot cause the infant 
to experience the impressions which she feels. 
But if, by his own acknowledgment, a mother may 
communicate to her infant the convulsions into 
which extreme terror has thrown her, it is evident 
that the mother may communicate her affections to 


the foetus without the intermediate assistance of 
nerves.” 


N5 


274 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


Some remarkable instances of the influence of 
maternal imagination have been observed among 
female quadrupeds. 

An Arabian mare, belonging to the Earl 
of Morton, which had never been bred from 
before, after having a mule by a quagga, had, in 
succession, three foals by a black Arabian horse. 
The first two of these are described as follows.— 
They have the character of the Arabian breed as 
decidedly as can be expected ; but, both in their 
colour, and in the hair of their manes, they have 
a striking resemblance to the quagga. ‘Their 
colour is bay, marked more or less like the quagga 
in a darker tint; and both are distinguished by the 
dark line along the ridge of the back, the dark 
stripes across the forehand, and the dark bars 
across the back part of the legs. Both their manes 
are black: that of the filly is short, stiff, and stands 
upright; that of the colt is long, but so stiff as to 
arch upwards, and to hang clear of the sides of the 
neck, in which it resembles the hybrid: this is the 
more remarkable, as the manes of the Arabian breed 
hang lank, and closer to the neck, than those of 
most others. 

The explanation of these phenomena by Mr. 
Mayo is, that the connexion with the male produces 
a physical impression, not merely upon the ova, 
which are ripe for impregnation, but upon others 


CIRCUMSTANCES MODIFYING THESE LAWS, 275 


likewise, that are at the time immature. As, how- 
ever, there are ample proofs of the power of the 
mother’s imagination among quadrupeds, especially 
over colour, this explanation is very improbable. 

“ Some physiologists,” says Mr. Knight (4, De- 
cember), “have been disposed to think, that the 
imagination of parents operates upon the character 
of the offspring. ‘The strange fact of Lord Mor- 
ton’s mares having continued to produce, in a de- 
clining extent, striped horses, is perhaps, to some 
extent, favourable to such opinions.” 

In the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, Mr. 
Boswell says, «One of the most intelligent breed- 
ers I ever met with in Scotland, Mr. Mustard, of 
Angus, told me that one of his cows chanced to 
come in season, while pasturing on a field, which 
was bounded by that of one his neighbours, out of 
which an ox jumped, and went with the cow, 
until she was brought home to the bull. The ox 
was white, with black spots, and horned. Mr. 
Mustard had not a horned beast in his possession, 
nor one with any white on. it. Nevertheless, the 
produce of the following spring was a black and 
white calf with horns.” 

Mr. Blaine says that, “Imprintings which have 
been received by the mother’s mind previous to 
reproduction, are conveyed to the germs within 
her, so as to stamp one or more of them with cha- 


276 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


racteristic traits of resemblance to the dog from 
which the impression was taken, although of a 
totally different breed from the real father of the 
progeny. In these instances of sympathetic devia- 
tion, the form, size and character are, in most, 
principally the mother’s; but the colour is usually 
the favourite’s, with, perhaps, a few characteristic 
blendings of external resemblance intermixed, 

“It would appear that this mental impression, 
which is perhaps usually raised at some period of 
cestrum, always recurs at that period, and is so inter- 
woven with the organization even, as to become a 
stamp or mould for some if not all of her future 
progeny; and the existence of this curious anomaly 
in the reproductive system is confirmed by acts 
of not unfrequent occurrence. 

“I had a pug bitch whose constant companion 
was a small and almost white spaniel dog of Lord 
Rivers’ breed, of which she was very fond. 
When it became necessary to separate her, on ac- 
count of her cestrum, from this dog, and to confine 
her with one of her own kind, she pined exces- 
sively; and notwithstanding her situation, it was 
some time before she would admit of the attentions 
of the pug dog placed with her. At length, how- 


ever, she did so ; impregnation followed; and, at 
the usual period, she brought forth five pug pup- 
pies, one of which was elegantly white, and more 


CIRCUMSTANCES MODIFYING THESE LAWS. 


slender than the others.—The spaniel was soon 
afterwards given away, but the impression re- 
mained; for, at two subsequent litters (which were 
all she afterwards had), she presented me with a 
white young one, which the fanciers know to be a 
very rare occurrence. 

“The late Dr. Hugh Smith used to relate a 
similar instance which occurred to a favourite 
female setter that often followed his carriage. On 
one occasion, when travelling in the country, she 
became suddenly so enamoured of a mongrel that 
followed her, that, to separate them, he was forced, 
or rather his anger irritated him, to shoot the mon- 
grel, and he then proceeded on his journey. ‘The 
image of this sudden favourite, however, still 
haunted the bitch, and for some weeks after, she 
pined excessively, and obstinately refused intimacy 
with any other dog. At length, she accepted a 
well-bred setter ; but when she whelped, the Doc- 
tor was mortified with the sight of a litter which, 
he perceived, bore evident marks, particularly in 
colour, of the favoured cur, and they were accord- 
ingly destroyed. ‘The same also occurred in all 
her future puppings: invariably, the breed was 
tainted by the lasting impression made by the 
mongrel.” 

In the Transactions of the Linnzean Society of 
London, is an account, by Mr. Milne, of a preg- 


278 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


nant cat, his own property, the end of whose tail 
was trodden on with so much violence, as to give 
the animal intense pain. When she kittened, five 
young ones appeared, perfect in every other re- 
spect except the tail, which was, in each of them, 
distorted near the end, and enlarged into a cartila- 
ginous knob. 

Of the influence of climate, Sir Anthony Car- 
lisle says (16, August), “It has been for some time 
notorious, and I think recorded in the larger vo- 
lumes descriptive of the convict colony of Botany 
Bay, that the children of European parents there 
are generally born with white hair and fair com- 
plexions. Inquiries made by myself assure me, 
that the children of European descent in the se- 
cond generation, are almost universally fair and 
white haired, notwithstanding the colour and com- 
plexion of their parents. This was confirmed by a 
surgeon who was lately examined at the college, 
and who had resided seven years at Sidney Town 
as a medical man. 

“The same gentleman stated that the second 
generation of European descent at Botany Bay, 
partook of the ugly visages of the aboriginal 
inhabitants.—TI rather suspect that the present de- 
scendants of the older north American settlers, 
begin to resemble in figure the original Indians.” 

That the long cohabitation and intimacy of two 


CIRCUMSTANCES MODIFYING THESE LAWS. 279 


individuals, induces similarity of countenance, I 
have often observed. It is to be seen chiefly in old 
married couples, in the most moveable features of 
the face, and principally about the mouth. It is i 
doubtless the result of sympathetic feeling and 
similar expression. 

Dr. Hancock, the American traveller (15, Aug.) 
says, “It has appeared to me that very obvious 


changes are produced in a few generations, from 
certain assimilations independently of intermar- 
riage. We find, in negro families which have long 
dwelt with those of the whites as domestics, that 


successive generations become less marked in their 
African features, in the thick lip and flat nose ; 
and, with skins of a shining black, they gradually 
acquire the European physiognomy. This is more 
especially observable amongst the older settlers, and 
in the smaller islands, such as St. Kitt’s, Nevis, 
Montserrat—where there had been but small ac- 
cessions of native Africans. 

« Under such circumstances, we may often dis- 
tinguish a Dutch negro by the countenance alone. 
This difference can scarcely be described by words, 
but frequently we observe that obliquity of the eye 
so common to the Hollander.—I have never read 
or heard of any discussion on this subject; but I 
have long thought it curious and deserving the 
consideration of anthropologists. I cannot pretend 


280 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


to account for this, and I merely state the facts, 
which I doubt not you will find confirmed by those 
who have enjoyed similar opportunities of observa- 
tion.” 


On the influence of domestication, Mr. Law- 
rence, in his Lectures, says, “In endeavouring to 


account for the diversities of features, proportions, 
general form, stature, and other particulars, I must 
repeat an observation already made and exemplified 
in speaking of colour: namely, that the law of re- 
semblance between parents and offspring, which 
preserves species, and maintains uniformity in the 
living part of creation, suffers occasional and rare 
exceptions; that, under certain circumstances, an 
offspring is produced with new properties, diffe- 
rent from those of the progenitors; and that the 
most powerful of these causes is that artificial 
mode of life which we call the state of domes- 
tication. 

“ At present, we can only note the fact, that the 
domestic condition produces, in great abundance, 
not only those deviations from the natural state of 
the organization, which constitute disease, but 
also those departures from the ordinary course of 
the generative functions, which lead to the produc- 
tion of new characters in the offspring, and thùs 
lay the foundation of new breeds. The domestic 
sow produces young twice a year; the wild animal, 


CIRCUMSTANCES MODIFYING THESE LAWS. 281 


only once. The former frequently brings forth mon- 
strous foetuses, which are unknown in the latter.” 

In a philosophical point of view, Mr. Blaine ob- 
serves, “ We have no such thing as a pure breed 
among any of our domestic animals. Our most 
boasted specimens are either altogether degene- 
rated, or produced from congenital varieties: the 
native and original types are mostly unknown to us. 

“ In tracing the natural history of the dog, we 
must feel convinced, that what we call breeds are 
but varieties, which have been generated by va- 
rious causes, as climate, peculiarity in food, re- 
straint and domestication. Man, active in. pro- 
moting his own benefit, has watched these gradual 
alterations, and has improved and extended them 
by aiding the causes that tend to their production, 
and by future care has perpetuated and made them 
permanently his own. 

“ Many varieties among dogs and other domes- 


tic animals are the effect of monstrosity, or have 


arisen from some anomaly in the reproductive 
or breeding process. When these accidental va- 
Yieties have exhibited a peculiar organization 
or form which could be applied to any useful or 
novel purpose, the objects have been reared, and 
afterwards bred from; and when the singularity 
has been observed in more than one of the same 
birth, it has been easy to perpetuate it by breeding 


Tt 


LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


again from these congeners, and confining the fu- 
ture intercourse to them. 

“To these accidental variations from general 
form and character among dogs, we are to attribute 
our most diminutive breeds, our pugs, bull-dogs, 
wry-legged terriers, and some others; our general 
breeds are, however, rather the effect of slow culti- 


vation than of sudden and extraordinary produc- 
tion.” 


SECTION III. 


CONSEQUENT Easy [IMPROVEMENT oF FAMILIES. 


I have already shown that organization is nearly 


indestructible, because, although the two series of 
organs in parents may be dislocated in progeny, 
they still exist, and enter into new combinations, 
or are re-formed. I have also shown that perfec- 
tion is unattainable by any race, because, long ere 
it could be reached, parents would resemble each 
other, sexual excitement would cease, and repro- 
duction would fail. 

The first of these facts presents the great ob- 
stacle to the general and speedy improvement of 
the human race. The second proves that no ad- 


EASY IMPROVEMENT OF FAMILIES. 285 


vantages, limited even to privileged families, and 
enjoyed by them in the highest degree, would ex- 
empt them from the imperfection and the ills, which 
are in reality essential to all existence. 

Neither of these facts, however, can in any de- 
gree discourage either nations or families in the 
career of improvement, from the highest degree of 
which all are so vastly remote. 

In relation to the first of these facts, I have said 
that organization is nearly indestructible, because 
it cannot bedoubted that education, though far more 
slowly than zealous persons imagine, yet if general 
—an important condition—would slowly ameliorate 
it. And this is one source of hope for humanity. 

Even without that systematic and universal educa- 
tion, which any enlightened government would es- 
tablish, we see what the education derived, amidst 
frightful hazards and infinite suffering, from the 
mere accidents of life, can accomplish. 

The poor man, born with happy organization, 
and reared in the stern school of misfortune, often 
becomes superior to the aristocracy of the land, 
who, in the destitution of talent inseparable from 
their education, are compelled to court his aid, es- 
pecially when that can render them more secure in 
rank, and richer in emolument. 


Certain it is that families, by intermarriages 
founded on rational principles, and in conformity 


284, LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


with the natural laws so clearly established, as pre- 
vailing equally among men and lower animals, may, 
surely, easily and quickly (some in their first, others 
in their second generation) raise themselves, in 
some at least of their members, from deformity to 
beautiful organization, from disease to health, and 
from stupidity to high mental ability. 


Moreover, if the importance of judicious cross- 
ing were seen, among the variously organized tribes 
composing a nation like the British, these benefits, 
in moderate degree, would be proportionally ex- 


tended among the mass of the people. 

In the subsequent part of the work, devoted to 
the subject of Choice, the application of these prin- 
ciples, in its most essential details, will be made to 
all the great individual varieties. 

It is here only meant to be shown that, on these 
principles, the means of improvement are in the 
power of every family. 

A little reflection on the laws of descent will 
show, that a son can resemble his father only in 
half his organization. It similarly follows, that on 
this son intermarrying, he may not communicate to 
the grandson the share which he has in his father’s, 
but that which he has in his mother’s, conformation. 

Thus one-half the father’s organization must be 
lost in the son, accident at present alone determin- 
ing whether it shallbe the best or the worst portion; 


EASY IMPROVEMENT OF FAMILIES. 285 
and the other half may disappear in the grandson 
so that the latter shall not have the slightest de- 
gree of the organization, nor the slightest resem- 
blance to his grandfather. Hence it follows, that 
aman may have no rational interest, physical or 
moral, in his second or third generation. 

On how slender a basis, then, are at present 
founded the claims of hereditary descent-—the cer- 
tainty that the son must have a very partial resem- 
blance to the father—that the grandson may have 
none—and that there are many chances against 
subsequent generations having the slightest ! 

Similar reflections, however, on these laws will 
show, that, by placing himself in suitable relation 
to an appropriate partner in intermarriage, man, 
unless all the most undisputed facts of breeding be 
faise, has (precisely as the breeder has among 
lower animals) the power to reproduce and to pre- 
serve either series of organs—the best, instead of 
the worst, portion of his organization. 

It can, indeed, be only passion, venality or pride, 


that can prevent man from doing, for his own pro- 
geny, that which natural and universal laws permit 
him to do for the progeny of every domesticated 
animal. The only reply that, under these circum- 
stances of actual and daily demonstration, he can 
maké to the invitation of nature and of science, is, 
that he prefers a blind passion to an enlightened 


286 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


one,—brutal mdulgence,succeeded by life-long dis- 
gust, to exquisite enjoyment and permanent hap- 
piness,—or money, a mere means of pleasure, at 
the cost of domestic misery—perhaps of conjugal or 
filial insanity, to actual pleasure for himself and all 
around him, as well as the progress of children in 
intellectual improvement and honourable arts—the 
sole means of abiding fortune,—or rank from which 
he may look up to those above, who despise and spit 
upon him because he would vainly overtake them 
in their idiot scramble for a bubble, and down on 
those below, who therefore naturally hate him for 
his insolent assumption. 

To those of higher aspirations than these—to 
those who seek for the improvement of their race, 
and for mental advancement both in themselves and 
their progeny, it cannot be wrong, in passing, to 
say that the other functions will diminish in energy 
as the cerebral functions become more intense. 
Hence men of the highest intelligence are more 
liable than others to cerebral affections. There 
are, therefore, prudent limits even to the best em- 
ployment of the mind. 


But not only is the means of improved general 
organization in progeny subject, by intermarriage, 
to the control of man, beauty of face is, by the 
same means, equally in his power. 

An equality or similar proportion between the 


EASY IMPROVEMENT OF FAMILIES. 287 


organs combined in children, is always productive 


of more or less beauty, whatever the size of these 
ergans may be. On the contrary, an inequality or 
disproportion between the combined organs, is al- 
ways productive of ugliness. 

Accordingly, where there is symmetry of head, 
there is symmetry of face, or beauty; and where 
there is want of symmetry of head, there is want of 
symmetry of face, or ugliness. A perfect corres- 
pondence must indeed exist in this respect. 

The reason is obvious. ‘The backhead being the 
originator of all voluntary motions—those of the 
moveable parts of the face as well as others, they 
go together, and the agreement or disagreement of 
these parts becomes striking. 

The greatest degrees of ugliness occur in the 
lower half of the face. I may, therefore, take 
thence my examples. 

A prominent backhead added to a smaller fore- 
head, always produces a disagreeable projection of 
the lower parts of the face—generally of the under- 
lip and lower part of the nose. The Ethiopic ne- 
gro, with a large backhead, has prominent alveoli 
and lips. ; 

On the contrary, a small backhead added to a 
very large forehead, always produces a not less dis- 
agreeable contraction of the lower part of the face. 

Beautiful parents produce ugly children, when 


288 LAWS OF RESEMBLANCE. 


the organs in the new combinations are worse 
adapted to each other than the old ones. Ugly 
parents produce beautiful children, when the or- 
gans are. better adapted to each other than the 
old ones. 


Thus the mere relative proportion of the organs 


combined in children is a great cause of beauty or 
of ugliness; and there are no exceptions to its in- 
fluence. 

` As already said, however, this is not the place 
for details. 


PARTY. 


VAGUE METHODS OF REGULATING PROGENY 
ADOPTED IN THE BREEDING OF DOMESTI- 
CATED ANIMALS. 


SECTION LI. 


GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 


Mr. CLINE appears to have been the first anato- 
mist who called the attention of breeders to the 
scientific principles of their art. In this respect, 
he did indeed little; and he certainly had no idea 
either of the number and importance of these prin- 
ciples, or of the conclusions to be drawn from them. 
But it was still something to point out the value 
of a little knowledge of anatomy, and the import- 

ance of capacity in the chest of animals. 
Mr. Cline’s first proposition, that the external 

o 


990 VAGUE METHODS OF BREEDING ANIMALS. 


form of domestic animals is an indication only of 
internal structure, and that the principles of im- 
proving that form, must therefore be founded on 
a knowledge of the structure and use of internal 
parts, is quite indisputable. 

It is mere nonsense and ribaldry, therefore, 
when Mr. Hunt says, “If the breeders have long 
been accustomed tò select those best formed for 
breeding without an anatomical examination, the 
old method must certainly have the preference, as 
it would be impossible to breed from these animals 
after they had been dissected. It will not prove 
a sufficient objection to this argument to assert 
that, by the dissection of one animal, the merits of 
the whole breed may be ascertained, as it is well 
known to those who understand the business, that 
great varieties of perfection will take place in the 
same family ; and it must be also evident, that if 
the degree of perfection is only to be known by 
dissection, it will be impossible to establish any 
other criterion of choice but family connexion ; and 
though the own brother to the martyr of this scien- 
tific sacrifice be made choice of, it will also be im- 
possible to estimate his perfections till his viseera 
have been made the subject of anatomical investi- 


gation.” —Mr. Cline asks for anatomical knowledge, 
not for dissection. Dissection, indeed, first taught 
us such truths; but we should have been more stu- 


GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 291 


pid than we are, if we had not long ere now learned 
thereby some of the relations of external forms to 
internal structure. 


In breeding, the hereditary tendency of peculiar 


structure was well known to the ancients. Among 
the moderns, it is a matter of common observation. 

The principle of breeding is the axiom, that 
“ like produces like’—meaning that the progeny 
will inherit the qualities of the parents. 

This principle is held to extend to form, quali- 
ties, the consequences of hard work, or ill-usage, 
and pre-disposition to, or exemption from, disease— 
in short, to the whole constitution. 

It applies equally to sire and dam. “ To breed, 
therefore,” says Mr. Thacker, “in the most suc- 
cessful manner, the male and female should be 
taken when they are in the highest state of health, 
and when all the powers and attributes which are 
wished for, and which it is designed to propagate, 
are in the most complete order and state of per- 
fection.” 

This principle, however, is so vague as to be 
nearly useless in application. Hence Mr. Cline 
Says, “'The theory of improvement has not been 
SO well understood, that rules could be laid down 
for directing the practice.”—The reader has already 
Seen the more definite laws which must take its 
place. 

o2 


992 VAGUE METHODS OF BREEDING ANIMALS. 


In a subsequent Part, I propose to apply these 
laws a little further to the breeding of domestic 
animals. In the present, I shall briefly give, chiefly 
from the best authorities on the subject, their own 
view of the vague methods at present adopted, 
under the heads of In-and-In Breeding, Selection, 
and Crossing. 


SECTION II. 
BREEDING IN-AND-IN. 


It was doubtless from the belief that, on the 
principles of like producing like, the most perfect 
parents would produce the most perfect offspring, 
that breeding in-and-in originated. It was pro- 
bably, therefore, the most ancient practice. 

In some cases, however, the horse, the camel, 
&e. are said to have refused connexion with the 
mother. Varro says, “Equus matrem ut saliret 
adduci non posset.” This however is not always 


the case. Dogs are less averse to such unions: 


but the disproportion of age is not so great between 
them. 

That this aversion, however, should in any de- 
gree, or on any occasion, exist among animals, that 


BREEDING IN-AND-IN. 293 


it should exist in the greatest degree among man- 
kind, and that such breeding should always be less 
prolific, are strong proofs of the impropriety of the 


closest and strictest in-and-in, namely, that between 


parents and progeny, &c. 

It was, however, an absurd prejudice, as Sir 
John Sebright observes, “ which formerly prevailed 
against breeding from animals, between whom 
there was any degree of relationship. Had this 
opinion been universally acted upon, no one could 
have been said to possess a particular breed, good 
or bad; for the produce of one year would have 
been dissimilar to that of another, and we should 
have availed ourselves but little of an animal of 
superior merit, that we might have had the good 
fortune to possess.” | 

The Arabians, we are told, preserve the pedi- 
gree of their horses more carefully than their own ; 
never allow ignoble blood to be mixed with that of 
their valued breeds; and attest their unsullied no- 
bility by formal depositions and numerous wit- 
nesses. Equal attention is paid to the breed of 
horses by the Circassians, who distinguish the 
various races by marks on the buttock. Now, the 
former at least of these horses being commonly 
said to be bred in-and-in, while they have yet main- 
tained their high character, is generally regarded 
as an argument in favour of in-and-in breeding, 


994 VAGUE METHODS OF BREEDING ANIMALS. 


Mr. N. H. Smith, however, long a resident 
among the Arabs, is of opinion, that “colts bred 
in-and-in [even though not closely or strictly] show 
more blood in their heads, are of better form, and 
fit to start with fewer sweats, than others; but when 
the breed is continued incestuous for three or four 


crosses, the animal degenerates.” 

Experiments made in Bohemia on the breed of 
horses, tend also to show that the best breeds de- 
generate when always united in a direct line with 


their parents. 

On breeding in-and-in, in cattle and sheep more 
especially, Sir John Sebright, after reasonably 
doubting the procedure of Mr. Bakewell, endea- 
vouring to show that that term does not strictly 
apply to Mr. Meynell’s practice, and observing that 
none of the advocates for it with whom he has 
conversed, have tried it to any extent, states that, 
as “a tendency at least to the same imperfection, 
generally prevails in different degrees in the same 
family, by breeding in-and-in, this defect, however 
small it may be at first, will increase in every suc- 
ceeding generation, and will, at last, predominate 
to such a degree, as to render the breed of little 
value.” . . 

Observing that, by selecting animals for one 
property only [instead of all that are essential to 
them], the same effect will, in some degree, be 


BREEDING IN-AND-IN. 295 


produced, as by breeding in-and-in, Sir John sayss 
“ The Leicestershire breeders of sheep have inhe- 
rited the principles, as well as the stock, of their 
leader, Mr. Bakewell: he very properly [that must 
be qualified] considered a propensity to get fat, as 
the first quality in an animal destined to be the food 
of man: his successors have carried this principle 
too far; their stock are become small in size, and 
tender, produce but little wool, and are bad 
breeders.” 

To breeding in-and-in, says the author of the 
Useful Knowledge Society’s work on cattle, “ must 
be traced the speedy degeneracy—the absolute dis- 
appearance of the new Leicester cattle, and, in the 
hands of many an agriculturist, the impairment of 
constitution and decreased value of the new Leices- 
ter sheep and the short-horned beasts.” 

In breeding in-and-in in dogs, Mr. Blaine ob- 
serves, “One thing it is but just to state, which is, 
that breeding in-and-in among dogs, seems to have 


more opponents than it has in the multiplication 


of any other domestic race of animals.” 

In the same manner, do the best observers ge- 
nerally agree as to in-and-in breeding causing de- 
generacy, loss of reproductive power, &c. in the 
offspring—data from which, with others, I deduced 
the law of in-and-in already enunciated, in which 
the mother gives character to progeny.—For the 


So VETE ae + ee T a + — ee 


T 


296 VAGUE METHODS OF BREEDING ANIMALS. 


sake of pointing out that circumstance, as well as 
of showing the general opinion on the subject, I 
have quoted the preceding observations. 

I must add, however, that it is truly observed, 
that breeding in-and-in may, to a certain extent, 
be employed in strengthening good properties, in 
fixing any variety that may be thought valuable, 
or in developing and establishing the excellent 
form and quality of a breed. 

I must further add, that it appears to me, that 
no cross can be established and maintained, without 
what some would call, breeding in-and-in between 
those animals resulting from it which have the 
homogeneous or corresponding organization meant 
to characterize the breed. 


SECTION III. 
SELECTION. 


Here it is first necessary to know the best 
characteristics of animals, in order continually to 
select those which most nearly approach these. 


By taking advantage, moreover, of the natural 
tendency to transmit any accidental quality which 
happens to arise, further power over the race is ac- 
quired; and attention to the same points is con- 


SELECTION. 297 


tinued till, in consequence of the effect increasing, 
a particular figure, proportion of limbs, or any 
other quality is established in the breed. 

It is not merely by putting the best male to the 
best female, that the desired qualities can be ob- 
tained; but by other means not clearly defined in 
the common practice, and dependent on the prin- 
ciples already laid down.—But my present business 
is with the authorities as to selection. 

“ The alteration,” says Sir John Sebright, 
“s which may be made in any breed of animals by 
selection, can hardly be conceived by those who 
have not paid some attention to this subject: they 
attribute every improvement to a cross, when it is 
merely the effect of judicious selection.” 

By this process, says Dr. Pritchard, “ distinct 
breeds of animals, of horses for example, are 
formed, which are adapted by their peculiar con- 


formation to various purposes of utility. Strength 


and the more unwieldy form, necessary to great 
power of limbs, become the character of one race; 
while another is distinguished for a light and more 
graceful shape, favourable to agility and celerity of 
motion.” 

So “ among the varieties of dogs, one race is re- 
markable for acute sight, another for fine scent, 
and a third for greater strength and weight of limbs, 

o 5 


298 VAGUE METHODS OF BREEDING ANIMALS. 


pointing them out as fit for the purpose of nightly 
protection.” 

s What has been produced by art,” says Sir 
John Sebright, “must be continued by the same 
means ... We must observe the smallest ten- 
dency to imperfection in our stock, the moment it 
appears, so as to be able to counteract it before it 
becomes a defect; as a rope-dancer, to preserve 
his equilibrium, must correct the balance, before it 
is gone too far, and then not by such a motion as 
will incline it too much to the opposite side . . . 
The breeder’s success will depend entirely upon 
the degree in which he may happen to possess this 
particular talent. 

“Tf one male, and one female only, of a valuable 
breed, could be obtained, the offspring should be 
separated, and placed in situations as dissimilar as 
possible; for animals kept together are all sub- 
jected to the effects of the same climate, of the 
same food, and of the same mode of treatment, 
and consequently the same diseases. By establish- 
ing the breed in different places, and by selecting, 
with a view to obtain different properties in these 
several colonies, we may perhaps be enabled to 
continue the breed for some time, without the in- 
termixture of other blood.” 

s Degeneracy of breeds,” says Mr. Knight (21, 


CROSSING. 299 


December), “ I have some reason to believe, may 
be prevented, to some extent at least, by proper 
use of pastures of a different kind. I had a breed 
of cattle, so excellent, that I did not like to cross- 
breed with any other, and I tried the effect of 
keeping some of the individuals on one pasture 
and some upon another. The soil of one pasture 
was strong, argillaceous and red, that of the other 
light sandy loam; and I am inclined to think that 
one individual grown upon one of those soils, 
afforded some of the benefits of crossing, when 
caused to breed with another individual of the 
same family, but reared upon a different soil and 
pasture.” 

In this notice of selection as commonly practised, 
I have omitted all the reasons which I deem erro- 
neous, and have confined myself entirely to facts. 


SECTION IV, 


CROSSING, 


Here, as in the two preceding sections, I shall 
as briefly as possible, state the opinion of a good 
authority as to each more important point. 

Although close breeding, says Mr. Berry, “ may 


ee 


a 


300 VAGUE METHODS OF BREEDING ANIMALS. 


increase and confirm valuable properties, it will 
also increase and confirm defects . . . It impairs 
the constitution, and affects the procreative powers 
.. - It will, therefore, always be necessary, after it 
has been resorted to, to throw ina strong cross, 
as respects blood, and to refer to such animals, for 
the purpose, as are unquestionably vigorous and 
healthy.” 

In breeding from stock with qualifications of 
different descriptions, and in different degrees, the 
breeder “ will decide what are indispensable or 
desirable qualities, and will cross with animals with 
a view to establish them. His proceeding will be 
of the ‘give and take’ kind. He will submit to 
the introduction of a trifling defect, in order that 
he may profit by a great excellence ; and between 
excellences, perhaps somewhat incompatible, he 
will decide on which is the greatest, and give it the 
preference.” 

Unfortunately, as the breeder has never been 
able scientifically, so he has been unable certainly, 
to accomplish this. 

Mr. Wilkinson observes that “ the thing gene- 
rally to be expected from mixing the breeds of ani- 
mals, possessing properties differing in degree, is 


such an union of those properties in the progeny, 
that they may be greater than in the ancestry on 
one side, but less than in that of the other . . . In 


CROSSING. 301 


crossing a cart-mare with a blood horse, no man 
expects to obtain from the produce, the strength of 
the former with the speed of the latter: but an 
animal that is swifter than the cart-horse, yet in- 
capable of drawing so great a burthen.” 

I have quoted this in order to explain the cause 
of the fact stated by Mr. Wilkinson.—The inter- 
mediate character of the qualities thus reproduced, 
is owing, not to each parent imperfectly giving its 
share in the progeny’s organization, but to the cir- 
cumstance that, in their new combinatien, each 
series of organs acts with, and therefore modifies, 
the other. 

In connexion with crossing, some interesting dis- 
cussion has arisen out of a doctrine of Mr. Cline, 
as to the relative size of parents. 

« Experience,” he says, “has proved, that cross- 
ing has succeeded, in an eminent degree, only in 
those instances in which the females were larger 
than in the usual proportion of females to males; 
and that it has generally failed when the males 
were disproportionably large . . . When the male 
‘is much larger than the female, the offspring is 
generally of an imperfect form. Ifthe female be 
proportionally larger than the male, the offspring 


is of an improved form. 


“The improvement depends on this principle; 
that the power of the female to supply her off- 


3802 VAGUE METHODS OF BREEDING ANIMALS. 


spring with nourishment, is in proportion to her 
size, and to the power of nourishing herself from 
the excellence of her constitution. 

« The size of the foetus is generally in propor- 
tion to that of the female parent; and, therefore, 
when the female parent is disproportionately small, 
the quantity of nourishment is deficient, and her 
offspring has all the disproportions of a starveling. 
But when the female, from her size and good con- 
stitution, is more than adequate to the nourish- 
ment of a foetus of a smaller male than herself, the 
growth must be proportionately greater. The 
larger female has also a greater quantity of milk, 
and her offspring is more abundantly supplied with 
nourishment after birth.’’ 

My correspondent * * *, alluding to Mr. Cline’s 
tract, observes (4, February), “I need not say that, 
from such a source, the theoretical views stated are 
excellent; but I think, in practice, I have found 
some of them incorrect ;” and (21, March) “ It is 
always desirable for the purpose of breeding 
healthy animals, that the females should be large. 
— But if, as will sometimes happen, some excep- 
tions should occur in a man’s herd or flock, and 
he should wish to breed from females of a small 
size, according to my experience, he will do right to 
select large males to put them to. This is con- 
trary to the theory of Mr. Cline.” 


CROSSING. 303 


Mr. Hunt says, “ If we search the whole animal 
creation, we shall find that the superiority of the 
male character, both in size and power, is strongly 
marked . . . I am wellinformed by all the breeders 
I am acquainted with, that it is the general practice 
to make use of males which are larger than the 
females. 


“ I have been favoured with the following in- 
teresting observations from my friend Mr. Stone, 
of Knighton.” ; 

According to * Mr. Cline’s opinion, a bull of this 
variety [a long-horned bull bred by Mr. Honeyborn 
of Dishley is referred to] put to a Lincolnshire, 
Yorkshire, Durham or Hereford cow (they being of 


a larger sort) would be advantageous; but put to 
a small Devon, or still smaller Scotch, it would be 
otherwise. But from a number of experiments, I 
am decided in my opinion, that he is mistaken. I 
have had, from the latter cross, as true symmetry 
of shape, as healthy constitutions, as profitable 
animals brought to market at unusually early 
ages, under three years old, as any I ever expe- 
rienced. 

“Let us suppose a Leicestershire tup put to a 
Charnwood Forest, or Ryland (both particularly 
small), or South Down, ewe,—I have seen their off- 
spring as healthy and useful in every respect as 
from the large Lincolnshire, Durham, Wilts, or 


304 VAGUE METHODS OF BREEDING ANIMALS. 


any other variety larger than the Leicestershire 
tup.” 

« The grand solution of this question,” resumes 
Mr. Hunt, “is made to depend on the ability of the 
female parent to nourish the foetus; for which 
purpose it is supposed to be necessary that the fe- 
male parent should be larger than the male. But, 
supposing the argument in no other respect objec- 
tionable, I have no doubt that, on examination, 
it will appear evident that small females are best 
calculated for the purpose. Small cows not only 
give the greatest quantity of milk, but it is reason- 
able to suppose that they give the greatest quantity 
in proportion to their quantity of food. [Why ?] 
A large-bodied animal must certainly require more 
nourishment than a small one; and consequently 
a small animal has more nourishment to bestow 
upon the foetus, or to supply her offspring with 
after birth.” 

It would seem, however, that she would have 
to spare, according to her size. The non sequitur 
here committed may be removed, if the vital sys- 
tem is larger in the smaller animal. 

«Tam well persuaded that small females less 
frequently fail, both in the production and support 
of a healthy offspring. 

« On the good effects of crossing, we are told 
[by Mr. Cline] that ‘ the great improvement in the 


CROSSING. 805 


breed of horses in England, arose from crossing 
with those diminutive stallions, Barbs and Ara- 
bians; and the introduction of Flanders mares 
into this country was the source of improvement 
in the breed of cart-horses.’ 

s With respect to the matter of fact, I have 
nothing to allege, but that all might be as here 
stated: but surely no one ever doubted that a bad 
breed might be improved by a mixture with a good 
one; and if the horses in England ever were a set 
of large, ill-formed, awkward animals, and small, 
neat, well-formed stallions were procured from 
Barbary or Arabia, it is reasonable to suppose that 
great improvements would take place.” 

Mr. Knight (16, April) says, “ Mr. Cline’s 
opinions upon. this subject are altogether wrong,— 
whether the animal to be produced be intended for 
labouring, or living and fattening, upon little 
food ;” and he adds that he has obtained offspring 
from Norwegian pony mares, by a London dray- 
horse, which had the powerful osseous system of 
the former, the legs only being shortened in order 
to accompany the mother. 

“ The error of Mr. Cline,” Mr. Knight observes 
(23, November) «and of those from whom he derived 
information, arose from their having seen the result 
of breeding between males of large size, much dis- 
position to fatten, and permanent habits through 


306 VAGUE METHODS OF BREEDING ANIMALS. 


successive generations, with small females, of hardy 
constitutions, and without permanent hereditary 
habits. The male here vastly improved the off- 
spring, the female giving hardiness of constitution, 
and generally much milk. 


PART VI. 


APPLICATION OF THE NATURAL LAWS TO 
THE BREEDING OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


SECTION 1. 


GENERAL OBSERVATIONS, 


‘Tue same laws, it has been already seen, are as 
applicable to animals as to man :—the law of Selec- 
tion operating where both parents are of the same 
variety, when either gives the organs of sense, 
forehead, and vital system, and the other, the 
cerebel and locomotive system ;—the law of cross- 


ing operating where each parent is of a different 
variety, when the male gives the backhead and 
locomotive system, and the female, the forehead, 
organs of sense and vital system ;—and the law of 
in-and-in breeding operating where both parents 


Sterenn ta SM DEE 


308 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


parents are of the same family, when the female 
gives the backhead and locomotive system, and the 
male, the forehead, organs of sense and vital 
system. 

But no law is dreamt of in the common practice 
of breeding. 


In breeding hunters, says the author of the ar- 
ticle Horse in the Encyclopedia Britannica, < ob- 


serve similarity of shape in horse and mare. As 
length of frame is indispensable in a hunter, if the 
mare be short, seek for a stallion likely to give her 
length. Again, if the mare be high on her legs, 
put her to a short-legged stallion, and vice versd ; 
for it is possible that even a hunters legs may be 
too short ; a racer’s certainly may be.” 

It is very true that stallions have been known 
both to give length of body and shortness of 
limbs. But this effort is as often unsuccessful as 
successful. How shall it be insured ?—As these 
laws show—by the male, possessed of these forms, 
having higher voluntary and locomotive power than 
the female. 

“ Much more dependence,” says the same article, 
“is now placed on the stallion than on the mare. 
The racing calendar, indeed, clearly proves the 
fact. Notwithstanding the prodigious number of 
very highly bred and equally good mares that are 
every year put to the horse, it is from such as are 


GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 309 


put to our very best stallions that the great winners 
are produced. ‘This can in no other way be ac- 
counted for, than by such horses having the faculty 
of imparting to their progeny the peculiar exter- 


nal and internal formation absolutely essential to 
the first-rate race-horse.” 

Such horses do so, because they have the 
“faculty” of doing so! A very satisfactory way of 
accounting, indeed! Now, the cause is the same 
here as were the means indicated in the preceding 
case. Among good stallions, the best is he who is 
possessed of the highest voluntary and locomotive 
powers, which he accordingly stamps upon his 
progeny. 

But it may be asked, of what consequence is it 
whether we call the stallion the “verybest,” or say he 
has the “ highest voluntary and locomotive powers.” 
The difference is, that the first expression states 
only the fact; the second, at the same time, as- 
signs its reason, which enables us to connect the 
mere fact with causes and effects, with other facts, 
and to derive from them useful conclusions. 

Opposite conditions would enable the mare to 
stamp her voluntary and locomotive system upon 
the progeny—always with some disadvantages. 

These remarks exemplify the use of understand- 
ing the application of the law of Selection.—The 
utility of the law of crossing may be similarly 
exemplified. 


310 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


«I have often been told,” says Sir John Sebright, 
“that from the beautiful shape of Mr. Elman’s 
South Down sheep, they must have been crossed 
with the new Leicester; and that from the fineness 
of their wool, they must have been crossed with 
the Merino breed ; but I do not conceive, that even 
the skill of this very distinguished breeder could 
have retained the good shape of the former, with- 
out any appearance of the coarseness of its wool, or 
the fine fleece of the latter, without the deformity 
of its carcass, had he crossed his flock with either 
of these breeds.” 

If “shape” here expresses the locomotive 
system, and if the wool be an appendage of that 
system, it is evident that they could not be thus 
obtained. 

These, though brief, are sufficient proofs of the 
importance of a knowledge of the application of the 
laws here announced. 

It is rather more difficult to observe the applica- 
tion of these laws to animals than to man: Ist. 
because animals are generally examined in a state 
of imperfect growth; 2ly. because the details of 
their forms are more or less obscured by hair, 
wool, &c.; and Sly. because, when it is, not 
only not across, but when there is nearly a perfect 
homogeneity of form between the male and female, 
no difference can be expected in the result. 


HORSES. 311 


Hence my correspondent * * *, who could not 
perceive such difference in his homogeneous herds 
and flocks, justly observes (23, February, 1838), 
“It may possibly be that my experience relating 
only to animals which have been bred for many gene- 
rations by persons having the same objects in view, 
are all of them so similar in their shape and con- 
stitution, that it is difficult to say which parent is 
the one that the progeny take after.” And he adds, 
*‘I must beg to add that if you could prove upon 
scientific principles and practical experience any 
theory to be correct of the nature of the one you 
have adopted, you would do a great service to all 
those engaged in breeding animals.” 


SECTION II. 


HORSES, 


In speaking of horses, the circumstance which 
will occur to every thinker as interfering with 
these laws, is the hypothesis of blood; for cer- 
tainly, if that could be transmitted in fourths, 
eighths, sixteenths, &c., it would be opposed to a 
doctrine, like that of these laws, according to which 


812 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


it is organization alone which is interchanged, and 
that always by halves given or taken away. In- 
deed, I do not hesitate to acknowledge that, if 
there were the slightest truth in the hypothesis of 
blood, there could be none in the doctrine now laid 
before the reader. 

It is curious, however, that although that un- 
founded hypothesis exists in the works of almost 
all writers, yet it was long ago refuted by Osmer; 
and I cannot do better than quote from his work 
on the subject, which is so perfectly in harmony 
with my own. 

“ Horses who have the finest texture, elegance 
of shape, and most proportion, are the best racers, 
let their blood be of what kind it will . . . If I was 
asked what beauty was, I should say proportion : 
if I was asked what strength was, I should say 
proportion ... A proper length also will be 
wanting for the sake of velocity: no weak, loose, 
disproportioned horse, let his blood be what it will, 
ever yet was a prime racer. 

“ If it be objected, that many a plain ugly horse 
has been a good racer,—I can even allow a very 
plain horse to be a prime racer, without giving up 
the least part of this system: for instance, if we 
suppose a horse (with a large head and long ears, 
like the Godolphin Arabian), a low mean fore- 


HORSES. 313 


hand, flat sided, and goose rumped,—this, I guess, 


will be allowed to be a plain ugly horse; but yet 
if such a horse be strong, and justly made in those 
parts which are immediately conducive to action, if 
his shoulders incline well backwards, his legs and 
joints in proportion, his carcase strong and deep, 
his thighs well let down, we shall find he may be a 
very good racer, even when tried by the principles 
of mechanics, without appealing to his blood for 
any part of his goodness. 

“ We are taught by this doctrine of mechanics, 
that the power applied to any body must be ade- 
quate to the weight of that body, otherwise such 
power will be deficient for the action we require 

The force and power of a muscle consists 
in the number of fibres of which it is composed ; 
and the velocity and motion of a muscle consists in 
the length and extent of its fibres. Let us com- 
pare this doctrine with the language of the jockey: 
he tells us, if a horse has not length, he will be 
slow; and if made too slender, he will not be able 
to bring his weight through. Does not the obser- 
vation of the jockey exactly correspond with this 
doctrine ?” 

I may here observe that my general law, appli- 
cable not only to muscles but to all organs, that the 
intensity of function is as the length of organ, and 
the permanence of function as the breadth of 

P 


314 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


organ, is the foundation of all rational distinction 
between horses for speed and horses for endurance 
in draught, &c. 

«© When we consider a half-bred horse running 
one mile or more, with the same velocity as a horse 
of foreign extraction, we do not impute that equa- 
lity of velocity to any innate quality in the half 
bred horse, because we can account for it by exter- 
nal causes: that is, by an equality of the length 
and extent of his levers and tendons.—And when 
we consider a half-bred horse running one mile, or 
more, with the same velocity as the other, and then 
giving it up, what shall we do? Shall we say the 
foreigner beats him by his blood, or by the force 
and power of his tendons? Or can we, without 
reproaching our own reason and understanding, im- 
pute that to be the effect of occult and hidden causes 
in one of these instances, and not in the other ? 

« How many instances have we of different 
horses beating each other alternately over different 
sorts of ground! How often do we see short, close, 
compact horses beating others of a more length- 
ened shape over high and hilly courses, as well as 
deep and slippery ground . . . And how comes it to 
pass that horses of a more lengthened shape, have a 
superiority over horses of a shorter make, upon level 
and flat courses? Is this effected by the difference 
of their mechanical powers, or is it effected by the 


HORSES. 315 


blood ? - If, by the latter, then this blood is not ge- 
neral, but partial only, which no reasoning man 
will be absurd enough to allow. 

“How many revolutions of fame and credit, 
have all sportsmen observed in these high-bred 
families . . . Observation shows us that on one 
hand, we may breed horses of foreign extraction 
too delicate, and too slight for any labour; and on 
the other hand, so coarse and clumsy as to be fitter 
for the cart than for the race. Shall we wonder that 
these cannot race, or shall we doubt that degrees 
of imperfection in the mechanism, will produce de- 
grees of imperfection in racing! and when we find 
such deficient, shall we ridiculously impute it to a 
degeneracy of that blood, which once was in the 


highest esteem, or to the want of judgment in him | 
who did not properly adapt the shapes of their pro- 
genitors! . . Shall we confess this, or is the fault 


im nature ? 

« If we should be asked why the sons of the Go- 
dolphin Arabian were superior to most horses of 
their time, I answer, because he had great power 
and symmetry of parts (head excepted), and a 
propriety of length greatly superior to all other 
horses of the same diameter, that have been lately 
seen in this kingdom. 

“If any man who doubts this excellence to be 
in the blood, should ask how it comes to pass that 

P 2 


en = 


316 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


we often see two full brothers, one of which is a 
good racer, the other indifferent, or perhaps bad, 
I know of but two answers that can be given: we 
must either allow this excellence of the blood to be 
partial, or else we must say, that by putting toge- 
ther a horse and a mare, different in their shapes, 
a foetus may be produced of a happy form at one 
time, and at another the fetus partaking more or 
less of the shape of either, may not be so happily 
formed. Which shall we do? Shall we impute 
this difference of goodness in the two brothers, to 
the difference of their mechanism ? or shall we say 
this perfection of the blood is partial? If the 
latter, then we must own that blood is not to be 
relied on, but that the system of it, and whatever is 
built on that foundation, is precarious and uncer- 
tain, and therefore falls to the ground of its own 


accord, 
s Where shall we find one certain proof of the 


efficacy of blood in any horse produced in any age 
or any country, independent of the laws of mecha- 
nics ? 


“He who has a fine female, and judgment 
enough to adapt her shapes with propriety to a 
fine male, will always breed the best racer, let the 
sort of blood be what it will.” 

Having made this valuable quotation from Os- 
mer, I now make 


HORSES. 317 


Application of the Natural Laws to the breeding 
-of Horses. 


1. These laws show, that the qualities of the 
sire and dam are communicated to their progeny, 


not in various and minute fractional parts, but in 


halves—in the anterior, or the posterior, series of 
organs, and in no other way. 

2. They show that we must neither expect one 
parent to communicate to progeny both series of 
organs, or any part of both series of organs; nor, 
on the contrary, must we expect both parents to 
communicate to progeny one and the same series 
of organs, or any parts of the same series of 
organs. 

3. They show that, by regulating the relative 
youth, vigour and voluntary power of the sire and 
dam, either may be made to give to progeny the 
voluntary and locomotive systems, and the other, 
the sensitive and vital systems; though, if they be 
well conformed, it is preferable that the sire should 
give the former and the dam the latter, as being 
the systems in which naturally they respectively 
excel. 

4. The details arising out of these laws show 
that pace and speed depend on the posterior series 
of organs—the locomotive system in particular, 
and that action depends on the anterior series of 
organs—the sensitive system—the eye in particu- 


318 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


lar, and that therefore these qualities must not be 
expected from one parent. 

5. The conclusions which may be drawn from 
these laws as to individual parts of these systems 
and their corresponding qualities, are innumera- 
ble.—The preceding general applications indicate 
the mode of proceeding as to all of them. 

A consideration of these laws will show how 
erroneous are the usual directions for attaining 


improvement in breeding. 


Both parents, we are told, “ must not have a 
tendency to the same defect, although in ever so 
slight a degree; for then it will in general be in 
excess in the produce.” —It will be no more in ex- 
cess than it is in the one parent who gives to the 
progeny the system in which that defect exists. 

We are told “not even to breed from those 
having a defect in any attribute, unless there is a 
redundancy in the same attribute in the mate.’”— 
The defect will be of no injury, and the redundancy 
of no advantage, except the system which contains 
one or the other be propagated. 

Such blunders arise out of ignorance of the 
preceding laws, and of the natural concatenation 
of organs which they express. _ 

The fourth of the preceding applications will be 
illustrated by what I have to say of the eye and 
action of the Arabian. 

That form of the race horse is deemed most 


HORSES. 319 


perfect which is best adapted to produce speed ; 
that of the hunter which gives both speed and 
power; and that of the draught horse which gives 
power alone. 


To the first of these, for the sake of a few new 


remarks, I first turn attention. 

The native breed of English horses formed the 
parent stock of the English racer, by furnishing 
the posterior series of organs, directly or indirectly, 
and especially superior size and proportion of 
moving parts. The Arab did the rest, by furnish- 
ing the anterior series of organs—the forehead, 
organs of sense (eye and, by the 4th application, 
action), the vital system, and therefore the density 
of every fibre, &e.—The enlightened reader will 
see, that this undeniable partition of qualities from 
these two breeds,—one giving the whole of the an- 
terior organs, and the other the whole of the pos- 
terior ones, illustrates the important truths I have 
enunciated in the natural laws. 

This will be farther impressed on the reader by 
considering the Arab, to whom we are so deeply 
indebted. 

To across with the Byerly Turk, we are in- 
debted for the Herod and Highflyer organization ; 
to the Godolphin Arabian, said to be a Barb, for 
the Matchem organization; to the Darley Arabian 
for the Flying Childers and Eclipse organization ; 


ae 
uez 


pa ee a en a 
a enema phe rne ee ee —~ 


320 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


and to the Wellesley Arabian, believed to be a 
Persian, for what is said to be the only advantage 
gained to English race horses, by a foreign cross, 
in later years. 

Let us look more closely to the qualities of the 
Arab, and it will be seen that the whole of them 
depend on the anterior series of the organs, which, 
thus going together, corroborate what has been 
said. 

To commence with the organs of sense, it is ac- 
knowledged that “ his fine and nearly hairless skin, 
softened and cleansed as it is by frequent copious 


perspiration, is highly sensible.” That his nostril 


is wide, and his eye open, are two of his most pal- 
pable characters. And on these, his great observ- 
ing faculties—his mind is dependent. 

In illustration of these observing faculties, I may 
remark that, in examining Mr. Theobald’s thorough- 
bred stallions, I was struck with the circumstance 
that each, in succession, turned and stood with his 
eyes toward me, while I remained in his box; and, 
on speaking of it, Mr. Theobald’s stud-groom ob- 
served that thorough-bred horses never fail to turn 
their faces to persons who are met to observe them; 
and that half-bred horses do the reverse. 

Mr. Hillier, the Master of the Horse at Astley’s, 
whose opportunities of observation are very great, 
assures me of the accuracy of this observation, and 


HORSES. 321 


adds that thorough-bred horses, in threatening, 
are apt to lift one of their forefeet, instead of a 
hind one, as half-bred horses do. 

As to their mind generally, some may question 


even its existence, and still more, our means of 


knowing its peculiarities. But, in default of a 
better knowledge of the brain—the organ of the 
highest faculties of the mind, we need only know 
what are the habits and the wants of any animal, in 
order to know its mind. The horse must know 
well the qualities of the ground in relation to his 
pace and speed, the extent of leaps, the nature and 
the strength of the obstacles that oppose him 
(hence he breaks through a hedge or a slender 
bar, but clears a strong gate), his own velocity com- 
pared with that of his opponent, the degree of skill 
possessed by his rider, &c. He has not, therefore, 
his large brain without its use; and these views 
will lead to a better investigation of it, by the com- 
parison of organization and function. 

But the Arab has all his faculties cultivated or 
capable of great cultivation. -= “ The horse of the 
desert,” as Gibbon says, “is educated in the tents 
among the children of the Arabs, with a tender fa- 
miliarity which trains him in the habits of gentle- 
ness and attachment.” And of the great superio- 
rity of his observing faculties over those of all 
other horses, Mr. Hillier assures me. 

Pd 


uae APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


Yet the author of the article Horse in the En- 
cyclopedia Britannica, says, “their efforts to win a 
race, we consider to be merely limited by their 
physical powers, the effect of a proper arrangement 
of their parts; and that the operation of the mind, 
or spirit, has nothing at all to do with it . . . The 
spirit of emulation cannot be ascribed to the race- 
horse ;” and, as might have been expected, he in- 
consistently adds, “ If his temper be really bad, he 
either runs out of the course, to the great danger 
of his rider, and to the inevitable loss of his owner 
and those who have betted on his winning, or he 
‘shuts himself up,’ as the term is, and will not 
head his horses, although in his power to do so.”— 
His spirit of emulation is known to every groom, 

So much for his organs of sense, forehead and 
their functions.—Now as to his vital system, com- 
prising the rest of what, for brevity’s sake, I have 
called his anterior series of organs. 

It is not for the size and proportion of his loco- 
motive system, that the Arab is renowned, but for 
its intimate structure. Now, the intimate structure 
of every organ—the number and density of their 
fibres—are entirely dependent upon the vital sys- 
tem, and particularly on the capillary arteries by 
which they are secreted. In the Arab, therefore, 
we see the excellence of his vital system in the pe- 
culiar character of the intimate structure of his or- 


gans—not in their size and proportion. 


HORSES: 323 


Accordingly, the writer last quoted says, « the 
Arabian horse possesses a firmness of leg and 
sinew unequalled by any other in the world... - 
Bones being the weight to be lifted, serve only to 
extend the parts; and it is evident, that such as 
are small, but highly condensed, like those of the 
deer, and the horse of the desert, are, by occupying 
less space, and containing less weight, more easily 
acted upon by muscular force, than such as are 
large and porous, and for a greater duration of 
time, without fatiguing the acting powers ..- All 
the muscles and fibres of his frame are driven into 
closer contact than those of any other breed ; and by 
the membranes [tendons] and ligaments being com- 


posed of a finer and thinner substance [his leg being 
flat and wiry], he possesses the rare quality of union 
of strength with lightness, so essential to the en- 
durance of fatigue in all quick motions. He thus 
moves quicker and with more force, by reason of 
the lightness and solidity of the materials of which 


his frame is composed. 
Thus his anterior series of organs is nearly per- 


fect. 

But more is wanted than this.—The size and 
proportion of his locomotive system is defective. 
Osmer, accordingly, says, “The Turks choose 
these Arabian horses when young, because, if cou- 
tinued long in the hands of the Arabs, they are 


324 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


small, stunted and deformed in shape; whereas, 
when brought into Turkey, a land of greater plenty 
than the deserts of Arabia, they acquire a greater 
perfection both of size and shape ... Shall we 
wonder that his offspring, produced in [England] a 
land of plenty, of whom the greatest care is taken, 
who is defended from the extremity of heat. and 
cold, whose food is never limited, and whose ves- 
sels are filled with the juices of the sweetest her- 
bage—shall we wonder, I say, that his offspring, so 
brought up, should acquire a more perfect shape 
and size than his progenitor ?” 

As to the defects of the locomotive system in the 
Arab, the author of the article Horse in the Ency- 
clopzedia Britannica, says, “ Accurate observers must 
have noticed, that the greater part of the horses 
brought to this country as Barbs and Arabians, 
have exhibited a palpable deficiency in the points 
contributing to strength, and the want of general 
substance.” 

Osmer enters further into details. «We seldom 
see,” he says, “ any of these horses sent us from 
abroad, especially from Arabia, but what are more 
or less disproportioned, crooked and deformed in 
some part or other . . . Though their shoulders in 
general exceedingly incline backwards, yet their 
forelegs stand very much under them; but in dif- 
ferent horses this ‘position is more or less ob- 


HORSES. 25 


servable > . . The Godolphin Arabian, when I 
saw him, stood bent at knees, and with his forelegs 
trembling under him.” * 


The posterior series of organs having, then, been 


improved in proportion and shape by the English 


* The Godolphin Arabian was purchased out of a 
water.cart in Paris, and consequently of uncertain caste, 
but evidently the horse of the desert. He was said, on 
what authority I know not, to bea Barb. As to his great 
head, there was more in it, I suspect, than even Osmer 
seems to have imagined. This brings to recollection 
what the Rev. Daniell says of a fox-hound.—*“ Al- 
though a small head is mentioned as one of the requisites 
of a fox-hound, that is to be understood as relative to 
beauty only; for as to goodness, large-headed hounds 
are in no wise inferior. As an instance: amongst a 
draft of young hounds from Earl Fitzwilliam’s was one, 
of whom Will Deane, his huntsman, made this remark in 
his letter, ‘that he could not guess at Lord Foley’s dislike 
to the hound called Glider, then sent, which was of the 
best blood in the country, being got by Mr. Meynell’s 
Glider out of Lord Fitzwilliam’s Blossom, and was more- 
Over the most promising young hound he had ever en. 
tered ; unless his Lordship took a distaste to the largeness 
ofthe head ; but he begged leave to assert, that although 
it might appear a trifle out. of size, there was a world of 
Serious mischief to the foxes contained in it? The event 
Justified Deane’s prediction in its utmost latitude, for 
Glider was a most capital chase, and long a favourite 
Stallion-hound, notwithstanding the magnitude and in- 
elegance of his head.” 


326 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


horse, we cannot wonder, that, as observed by the 


Encyclopadist, “ The immediate [uncrossed] de- 
scendants of the Eastern horses, have, almost with- 
out an exception, proved so deficient of late years, 
that our breeders will no more have recourse to 
them than the farmer would to the natural oat, 
which is little better than a weed, to produce a 
sample that should rival that of his neighbours in 
the market... Were the finest Eastern horse 
that could be procured, brought to the starting- 
post at Newmarket, with the advantage of English 
training to boot, he would have no chance, at any 
weight, or for any distance, with even a second- 
rate English race-horse.” 

But I cannot agree with that writer when, in a 
tone of unwarrantable triumph, he says, “ Having 
once gotten possession of the essential constitu- 
tional parts necessary to form the race-horse . . . 
we ourselves have, by a superior knowledge of the 
animal, and the means of availing ourselves of his 
capabilities, not only by rearing and training, but 
by riding him also, brought him to a pitch of excel- 
lence which will not admit of farther improve- 
ment.”—The result has indeed been excellent; 
but it has not been owing to “ superior knowledge.” 
We could cross the Arab only with what we had; 
what we did was done from sheer necessity, not 
from knowledge; and the best proof of that is, 


HORSES. 327 


that, till this moment, the theory of that cross was 
unexplained. 

Having, some years ago, communicated to a per- 
son employed on the subject, a few observations on 
the relative offices of the posterior and anterior 
limbs of quadrupeds, I have transcribed them, as 
peculiarly applicable to the horse. 

The length and conformation of the posterior ex- 
tremities, especially constitute the point of speed. 
The longer these extremities, ceteris paribus, the 
greater the speed. Running, physiologists ob- 
serve, is a succession of leaps, and it is undenia- 
ble that those animals are the best leapers which 
have the longest posterior extremities, whether 
they be quadrupeds or insects, as the hare, grass- 
hopper, &e. I say ceteris paribus, or other cir- 
cumstances being the same; for if these circum- 
stances are less advantageous, as is the diminished 
tension of muscles, and quickness of contraction in 
the frog, &c. then the resumption of the spring 
may not take place, and the succession of leaps, 
which constitutes running, may be imperfect. 

I shall now show that speed depends entirely 


on the construction of the posterior extremities of 


the animal. 

Ist. The greater weight of all swiftly-running 
animals must be toward their anterior part; for 
(as may be illustrated by throwing from the hand 


328 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


any missile loaded at the end) if this were not the 
case, if swiftly running animals were heaviest à 
posteriori, they would, at every leap, be actually 
thrown heels over head. 

Qly. The heaviest parts of animals are those 
which are chiefly passive, or have nothing to do 
with speed, as the head, neck, chest, spine an- 
teriorly, ribs, viscera, &c.; and hence it is that 
these parts must as inevitably be placed forward in 
animals, as the most powerful organs of motion, 
the posterior extremities, must be placed back- 
ward. 

3ly. A mass thus thrown forward is much more 
easily and swiftly moved than a mass that is 
dragged; for the mass which is thrown forward 
clears obstacles, free from impediment; while the 
mass which is dragged suffers from both. 

Hence it follows, that itis the posterior extre- 
mities alone which can by any possibility cause 
speed. ; 

Having thus determined the function of the pos- 
terior extremity, I shall now advert to that of the 
anterior one. 

I have no hesitation in asserting that this part 
contributes little to speed. Its chief action is, not 
to impel, but to stop; and the little it does contri- 
bute to progression, is merely in dragging up the 
posterior extremity towards its place through a 


HORSES. 529 


part of the space covered by the extension of the 
body. 

Examine its functions in every way, and it is 
evident that it can do no more than this. While 
-the posterior extremity has the power of project- 
ing the body through space, occasionally to the 
distance of several times its own length, the an- 
terior extremity, after receiving and stopping that 
impulse, can only drag up the posterior through 
a portion of space covered by the body, without 
causing it to pass through one inch of free space. 

Mr. Knight is of opinion that we err in cultivat- 
ing the race horse only for speed, and not for endur- 
ance. “ Horses,” he says (23, November), “with 
comparatively short legs, are best made to win 
long races; the force necessary to move long legs 
rapidly for a considerable time exhausts the power 
of the animal; and compact animals, other quali- 
ties being given, feed upon the least food.” — (8, 
January) “ What enormous expense has been em- 
ployed in improving the blood horse in this coun- 
try: yet the blood horse is most certainly a much 


feebler animal in respect to power of carrying 


weight, or of sustaining the fatigue of a long race, 
or any race if the ground be soft and wet, than 
it was fifty years ago. The breeders have de- 
stroyed the constitutional powers of the breed of 
the animal by excess of stimulation, in over feed- 


330 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


ing the young animals through successive genera- 
tions, and they have looked to the legs of the ani- 
mal for speed, instead of the constitutional power, 
which gives motion to his legs.” 

In breeding horses, subject to the laws enun- 
ciated, it is not only necessary that the organiza- 
tion of the animals selected should be of the most 
perfect kind, a certain age, exercise and perfec- 
tion in every function are essential. 

Mr. Theobald thinks that “the horse should 
be positively mature before covering.” A mare 
may breed at three or four years old: at an earlier 
period, breeding will interfere with the develope- 
ment of her structure and strength. 

That developement which is conferred by exer- 
cise is not less essential, both during growth and 
in adult age. A stallion will then have progeny 
far superior in such attributes, to those of a sire 
kept in inactivity. Hence it is indispensable that 
a stallion kept for covering, should be duly exer- 
cised. Mr. Thacker observes, that, if a stallion be 
prevented even by accidental lameness from ob- 
taining exercise, he is sure to be deficient in mus- 
cular powers, and to convey that deficiency to his 
offspring.”* 


* I know a horse who broke his leg in running a race 
when three years old, and who has since been kept 
for covering mares, not being capable of any thing else, 


CATTLE. 331 


It is of great importance, that the parents should 


have all their natural powers in absolute perfec- 
tion, A horse or mare’s being no longer capable 
of ordinary work, or having suffered from hard 
and continual labour, is certainly injurious to pro- 
geny. 

Constitutional infirmity, or the having a ten- 
dency to fail in their legs and feet, during training 
is fatal; and the mare that has slinked her foal is 
always liable to that accident. — 

As, then, are the organization, the maturity, the 
exercise, and the perfection of the natural powers 
in the parents at the time of reproduction, so will 
be the perfection of the progeny. And all these 
conditions may, with advantage, be applied to man 
and woman. 


SECTION III. 
CATTLE. 


The best cattle have the face rather short; the 
muzzle small; the horns fine; the neck light, 
or even of travelling for that; but his stock are not 


promising, though he is exceedingly well bred, of a good 
size, and not deficient of good general shape. 


332 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS, 


particularly where it joins the head; the chest 
wide, deep and capacious; the tail broad and fat 
toward the top, but thin toward the lower part, 
which it will always be, when the animal is small 
boned; the lower part of the thigh small; the legs 
short, straight, clean, and fine boned, though not 
so fine as to indicate delicacy of constitution ; the 
flesh, rich and mellow to the feel; the skin of a 
rich and silky appearance; the countenance calm 
and placid, denoting the evenness of temper es- 
sential to quick feeding and a disposition to get 
fat. 

Two of our finest varieties of cattle are the 
Hereford and the Durham Of these, Mr. Knight 
(23, November) says, “The form of a perfect 
Hereford and that of a perfect Durham, ox, or 
bull, or cow, are very similar, except that the Dur- 
ham breed have shorter horns. 

“ The improvers, as they are called, of the Dur- 
ham cattle, feed very highly; their young animals 
are kept in a fattened State from their birth; and 
they have brought to market more perfect, animals, 
at an early age, than any other. But every breed 
of animals which has, through a few generations 
(two or three is sufficient), been overfed, requires 
similar feeding; and the extraordinary animals 
which the Durham breeders have sent to Smith- 
field, have come there, I am sure, deeply insolvent 


CATTLE. 333 


—in other words, they have not nearly repaid the 
expenses of feeding them. The offspring of such 
animals require and. can digest more food than 
others who have lived upon little. 

The Durham breeders once tried their breed 
against the Hereford, when the Durham consumed 
12,775lbs. more of turnips, and 1,714]bs. more of 
hay, in the winter in which they were fattened ; 
whilst they gained much less in value than the 
Herefords. Our breeders have tried hard, by 
offering 100 guineas to 10, to provoke them to an- 
other trial; but without success. 

« All growing animals, including mankind, ought 
to be sufficiently well fed to preserve health and 
strength, but never to be stimulated by excess of 


food. The children of parents, however, who have, 


through many generations, been well fed, would 
perish if given no more food than would be suffi- 
cient for an Irish or Highland Scots peasant child.” 

In reply to the imputation that, in the hands of 
some breeders, even the Herefords are falling into 
the defect of fat preponderating over flesh, he says 
(16, March, 1838), “Some varieties of the Here- 
ford cattle certainly have this defect; but not all. 
In refining the muscle, some breeders have cer- 
tainly reduced it too much; but the modern Here- 
fords present generally much more lean flesh than 
either the Devons or Sussex.” 


394 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


The chief qualities sought for in cattle are the 
tendency to fatten on little food, and that to yield 
abundance of rich milk. 

The tendency to fatten is indicated chiefly by 
the capacity of the chest. 

“ Animals of all species,” says Mr. Knight (8, 
January), “all other qualities being given, are, I 
think, capable of labour and privation, and capable 
of fattening, nearly in proportion, as their chests 
are capacious: but the habits of ancestry will ope- 
rate generally very powerfully.” 

“ It is the width and depth of frame,” says Mr. 
Berry, “which confers weight, and not the mere 
circumstance of great height ... While equally 
great, if not greater, weights can be obtained with 
shorter-legged animals, they are, independently of 
other recommendations, generally found to possess 
better constitutions and greater propensity to 
fatten.” 

It is curious that those who breed cattle and 
sheep for the butcher, should not consult him on 
the subject; and that he is not admitted among 
the judges at the Smithfield Club. They ought cer- 
tainly to see and understand the dead animal as 
well as the living one, in order to know whether 
they have judged correctly in the awards they have 
made. Without this test, may they not commit 
great injustice ? 


CATTLE. 335 


Mr. Giblett of Bond Street, whose business and 
experience are among the most extensive in Lon- 
don, and whose mind is observant and reasoning, 
dissents entirely from so much of the doctrine of 
Mr. Bakewell as asserts that the best animals 
are those which fatten quickest on least food; for 
although he advocates proneness to fatten fast, with 
good form and symmetry, yet it is a sine qua non 


with him that every animal should also have a much 
larger proportion of muscle than of fat, and he has 
publicly declared that, for want of attention to 
this, most of the sheep, in particular, bred on Mr. 
Bakewell’s principle, are made more fit for the 
tallow-chandler than the consumer. 

In addition to this testimony, Mr. Giblett favour- 


ed me with a striking demonstration of this fact in 
the carcasses of two bullocks, one weighing one 
hundred and twenty stone, the other eighty only, 
but of which the latter was relatively by far the 
more valuable. 

It will be gratifying even to the artist to know 
that Mr. Giblett’s beau ideal of cattle does not 
differ from his own—that it is the animal displaying 
all its natural power in highly developed muscular 
masses, and not the artificial monster consisting of 
masses of vibrating fat laid on in lumps and 
patches. 

The breeder looks to a narrow interest—he 


a ee ee ne s 
Tee E SS —- a 
= eae 


336 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


thinks he can get a quicker return for fat than 
flesh—his herds and flocks are calculated chiefly to 
produce the former—his bulls and rams fetch him 
immense sums—and he will maintain this system 
till he finds it a losing one, which ere long he 
must do, unless he profit by the hint now given. 

As to the characteristics of a good milker, my 
correspondent * * * (11, January), says, “Some 
persons believe that they can form some judgment 
upon this: I cannot.” 

Certainly, both fattening and the production of 
milk appear to require a good vital or nutritive 
system—meaning still the tubular system, which 
transmits and transmutes the animal liquids. Wo- 
men and cows wanting that system in good state, 
will be destitute both of fat and milk. 

In relation to the latter, French women who 
have a bad vital system, are at once meagre, bad 
breeders, flat busted, moustached, hoarse-voiced, 
bad complexioned. And something analogous will 
doubtless be found in kine. 

On this subject, Mr. Knight (8, January) says, 
“ I am afraid that some of the defects of the French 
women are to be found amongst the superior classes 
particularly, in this country. The girls are gene- 
rally much more ‘ flat-busted’ than they were sixty 
years ago. Inow see them with different feelings ; 
but I can see forms with the same eyes; and several 


CATTLE. 307 


observant women have noticed the change. Look 
at the pictures of women a century or a century 
and a half ago, and the bosoms of the women there 
represented are not similar to those of modern 
times. Excess of application to acquire accom- 
plishments, and particularly music, has, I suspect, 
operated injuriously ; and I do not think that such 
Stimulants, as tea and coffee, have been beneficial.” 

Thus much seems generally true as to both pro- 
perties—fattening and milking. The next object 
is to trace the distinctions which subsist between 
them. 

Now, fat women appear to have relatively a 
smaller bosom; and what bosom they have is less 
formed of the glandular masses which secrete the 
milk, than of the fatty substance which is inter- 
posed between these: their bosom, therefore, as a 
Secreting organ, is less than it appears to be. 
Thinner women, on the contrary, (always provid- 
ing the vital system is good) have a larger bosom; 
and it is composed of palpable glandular masses, 
not of fat. There is, therefore, a foundation for 
the popular preference of wet-nurses who are 
rather thin than fat. I believe there is a pretty 
general feeling of the same kind with regard to 
cows as milkers. And I believe the Alderneys, 
while they produce rich milk (having long heads, 
&c.) have little power of fattening. If it be so, it 


Q 


338 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


is important, even if there were no other conse- 
quences to be drawn from it. 

In reply to these observations, Mr. Knight (8, 
January) says, “ The constitutional disposition to 
form fat, is certainly hostile to the disposition to 
give milk . . . Cows which give little milk often 
present large udders, which contain much solid 
matter; and, to inexperienced eyes, a two years 
old Hereford cow would give a promise of much 
milk, where very little would be given... A 
narrow forehead, and a long face, nearly of the 
same width from end to end, as in the Alderney 
cow, certainly indicates much more disposition to 
give milk, than the contrary form, which I have 


pointed out as indicative of a disposition to fatten.” 
This tends to corroborate what I have said as 
to thinness, with a glandular structure of mamma, 
being favourable to milking. 
If, however, we could discover, between fatteners 
and milkers, a difference of organization in other 
respects—a difference existing prior to their be- 


coming milkers, it might enable us to predict, at 
an early age, what the maiden or the heifer will 
become in this respect. 

Now, fat animals are more generally those of the 
north, where cold diminishes sensibility. Fat, in- 
deed, appears to be the means which nature very 
extensively employs to lower sensibility by inter- 


CATTLE. 339 


position between the skin and the central parts of 
the nervous system. Fat women and other animals, 
accordingly, have not only less sensibility and irri- 
tability of the skin, but of the organs of sense 
generally, eyes usually blue, soft, languid, not 
brilliant, penetrating, &e. Thinner animals, on 
the contrary, are more generally those of the south, 
and have more acute sensibility and, among wo- 
men, more brilliant eyes, and large mammæ—them- 
selves organs of exquisite sensation. Hence, the 
women of Egypt and Africa generally, who have a 
good vital systen, have also large organs of sense, 
and have, both in ancient and modern times, been 
famed for the magnitude of their mamme, capable 
even of being turned over the shoulder to suckle 
the infant on the back. “In Meroe crasso majo- 
rem infante papillam,” said Juvenal; and the fact 
is equally notorious at the present day. 

In reply to these observations, Mr. Knight (pre- 
Vious date) says, “I do not doubt that you are 
tight respecting the use of fat in cold climates; all 
Sleeping animals, through winter, go to sleep in a 
fatted state . .. I do not think that breeds of 
cows, which give much rich milk, are very hardy. 
The Alderney cows are what the Herefordshire 
farmer calls very nesh, that is, very incapable of 
bearing hardship of any kind, and particularly 
cold [consequently of greater sensibility]. Cows 

Q 2 


340 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


which give much milk have the power of eating 
and digestihg much food, and they require, whilst 
they give much milk, a very abundant and good 
pasture. The breeds of cows which give less milk, 
and present greater disposition to become fat, are 
generally less nesh, and will fatten upon less food 
. .. The influence of the feelings is very consi- 
derable. 1 have observed that whenever a young 
Hereford cow disliked being milked by the dairy- 
maid, she soon ceased to give milk; and I do not 
doubt that, in all cases, if the calves were twice 
every day permitted to suck after the dairy-maid 
had finished her labour, the cows would longer 
continue to give milk and in larger quantity.” 
This tends to corroborate what I have said as 
to greater sensibility being favourable to milking. 
If this led only to distinction of these two kinds 
as to milking—namely, that of fatness and thinness, 
and that of smaller and larger organs of sense and 
greater or less sensibility,—it would still be valu- 
able, as showing, either at a later or an earlier 


period, what we may expect in this important par- 
ticular. But perhaps its utility may extend still 
further, and enable us to improve the race. 

It may form a basis for our determining whether, 
in endeavouring to improve a breed, fatteners may 
most easily become also milkers, to some extent; 
or milkers may, to a similar extent, become fat- 


CATTLE. 84l 


teners; and what are the circumstances which 
would most favour such partial interchange, if not 


absolute improvement.—Indeed, from these prin- 


ciples, I would conclude, that an animal fattening 
in the north would become a better milker in the 
south, where more genial temperature would ren- 
der fat less necessary, would increase sensibility, 
and would cherish the secretion of milk, so inti- 
mately connected with that excitement of the re- 
productive functions which warmer climates pro- 
duce. 

These views as to animals appear to be con- 
firmed by some facts as to woman. We know that 
the flow both of the catamenia and of milk is less 
in cold climates, and greater in warm ones. Ac- 
cordingly, while the mammez are small and the 
milk scantier in dry, high and windy regions, the 
very opposite is the case in warm, low and humid 
ones, where women suckle their infants for a long 
time. 

Thus, as these two desirable qualities are both 
dependent upon one system, and as they are op- 
posed to each other (for excess of one secretion is 
always more or less at the cost of the rest), they 
will be most easily obtained by being distinctly 
sought for, and the animal of diminished sensibility 
will most easily fatten, while the animal of increased 
sensibility will most readily yield milk. 


342 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


These views are confirmed by the conduct of the 
London dairy-men. While they acknowledge that 
the Alderneys yield the best milk, they keep none 
of them, whatever they may pretend, because these 
animals are peculiarly delicate, and more especially 
because they cannot, after being used as milkers, 
be fattened for the butchers. The York and Dur- 
ham cows suit them best. 

In certain constitutions, however, and, fo a cer- 
taint extent, there is a compatibility between fat- 
tening and milking. 

Mr. Knight (28, November) says, “ The disposi- 
tion to give much and rich milk, and to fatten ra- 
pidly, are to some extent at variance with each other à 
but I have seen cases in which cows which have 
given a great deal of rich milk, have given birth to 
most excellent oxen, the cows themselves, how- 
ever, always continuing small and thin whilst 
giving milk. 

“ I very confidently believe in the possibility of 
obtaining a breed of cows which would afford fine 
oxen, and would themselves fatten well; but, as 
great milkers require much more food than others, 
the farmer who rears oxen, does not think much, 
perhaps not enough, about milk, and is in the 
habit (which is certainly wrong) of breeding his 
bulls from cows which have become his best owing 
only to their having been bad milkers,” 


CATTLE. 843 


My correspondent * * * says, (l1, January) 
that “fattening and milking to a certain extent 
are compatible.” 

Mr. Wilkinson says, rather more strongly than is 
consistent with physiological laws, “I have fre- 
quently found cows that are great milkers, to keep 
themselves at the same time in high condition, to 
feed with the quickest despatch when dried of their 
milk, and whose descendants will arrive at the ear- 
liest maturity —a practical proof, that a great 
tendency to feeding is not incompatible with a 
great tendency to milking.” 

They are to be procured, he thinks, “ by select- 
ing those animals that are most perfect in point of 
form, in quality of flesh, and so on; ‘and again by 
selecting out of these the very best milkers.” He 
adds, “ the property of milking is inherited as rea- 
dily as that of peculiarity of shape.” 

« In the selection of bulls,” he observes, “ that 
besides attending to those properties which belong 
to the male, we ought to be careful also, that they 
are descended from a breed of good milkers, at 
least if we wish the future stock to possess this 
property.” 

These last observations bring me ‘naturally to 
the 


344 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


Application of the Natural Laws to the Breeding 
of Cattle. 


The first three applications are the same as for 
the horse. To save the trouble, however, of refer- 
ring to them, I repeat them here. 

1. These laws show that the qualities of the sire 
and dam are communicated to their progeny, not 
in various and minute fractional parts, but in halves 
—in the anterior, or the posterior, series of organs, 
and no other way. 

2. They show that we must neither expect one 
parent to communicate to progeny both series of 
organs, or any part of both series of organs; nor, 
on the contrary, must we expect both parents to 
communicate to progeny one and the same series 
of organs, or any parts of the same series of organs. 

3. They show that by regulating the relative 
youth, vigour and voluntary power of the sire and 
dam, either may be made to give to progeny 
the voluntary and locomotive systems, and the 
other, the sensitive and vital systems ; though it is 
preferable that the sire should give the former and 
the dam the latter, as being the systems in which 
naturally they respectively excel. 

4. The details arising out of these laws show, 
that the capability of fattening and that of produc- 


SHEEP. 345 


ing milk being dependent on the same system—the 
vital, and abundance of one secretion being attended 
by diminution of others, either capability is best 
insured by being distinctly sought for, the former 
in the animal of diminished sensibility, and the 
latter in that of increased sensibility—a rule which, 
on being submitted to Mr. Knight, is well borne 
out by his observations, and which must, wherever 
one of these qualities alone is sought for, be of the 
greatest utility. 


SECTION IV. 


SHEEP. 


IN breeding sheep, the first object is to procure 
the kind of animal which, on a given quantity of 
food, will produce the greatest quantity of mutton. 

Here Dr. Jenner’s observation to Sir John Se- 
bright (the truth of which, Sir John says, has since 


been confirmed by his own experience)—that no 
animal whose chest is narrow can easily be made 
fat, is well illustrated in the meagre Merino sheep, 
which are in general contracted in that part. 


In this, however, there is some inconsistency 
with Mr. Hunt’s account of the Dishley sheep, for 
Q5 


346 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


which he refers to Marshall’s Rural Economy of 
the Midland Counties. “ The carcass of the Dish- 
ley sheep,” he says, “ when fully fat, takes a re- 
markable form; much wider than it is deep, and 
almost as broad as it is long; full on the shoulders, 
widest on the ribs, narrowing with a regular curve 
towards the tail; approaching the form of the 
turtle nearer perhaps than any other animal... 
I have,” says Mr. Hunt, “lately seen a very fine 
example of one of these high-bred sheep which was 
exceedingly fat, and was astonished to find the 
lungs so remarkably small. 

Mr. Giblett’s objections to excessive fattening 
are as applicable to sheep as to cattle. . 

Both fattening and the production of wool appear 


to require a good vital or nutritive system, and 
sheep defective in that system will be more or less 
defective both in fat and wool. 


Large heads, and long necks and legs, are incon- 
sistent with excellence in that system. 

It has been already observed, that fat appears 
to be the means which nature very extensively em- 
ploys to diminish sensibility by interposition be- 
tween the skin and the central parts of the nervous 
system. Accordingly, we find that, when sheep 
feed upon luxuriant plains, where little muscular 
exertion is required, a great accumulation of fat 
accomplishes this purpose. When, on the con- 


SHEEP. 347 


trary, they feed upon the scanty herbage of moun- 
tains, where great and incessant muscular exertion 
is requisite, fattening becomes impossible, and sen- 
sibility, which would otherwise be unprotected, ob- 
tains an exterior covering of the finest wool. 

The sheep of the Spanish sierras and those of 
Shetland equally exemplify this. In such locali- 
ties, not merely does muscular exertion prevent 
the deposition of fat, and expose the nervous sys- 
tem to more powerful impressions, but increased 
cold attacks it, and renders the finest and densest 
woolly covering indispensable. In Shetland, even 
the bristles of pigs are sometimes crisped, and con- 
verted into a coarse wool ; and it is remarkable that, 
in that country, when the few summer months 
produce a more luxuriant herbage, the sheep fatten 
rapidly. This last fact I have from the personal ob- 
servation of Dr. Copland, and nothing can more 
strongly confirm the views I have here presented. 

From these principles, I am disposed to con- 
clude, that an animal fattening in the south or on 
the plains, would produce finer wool in the north 
or on the mountains. 

In corroboration of these views, Mr. Knight (8; 
January) says, “ The fineness of wool is certainly 
injured by heat; but the attention of man and 
hereditary habit can do much.” 

“On the whole,” says Dr. Pritchard, “ it ap- 


3438 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


pears that a considerable change is speedily pro- 
duced on the fleece of the sheep by the influence 
of climate . . . The argali, according to Pallas, is 
covered with hair, which in summer is close like 


that of the deer, but in winter becomes rough and 
curled, resembling coarser hair intermixed with 
wool.” 

Dr. Hancock, from his own observation, informs 
me, that in Guyana, the English sheep loses its 
fine wool in about two years, and has its place sup- 
plied by coarser hair. 

“If sheep are highly kept,” says Sir John Se- 
bright, “ their wool will become less fine, but in 
other respects its quality will not be deteriorated. 
. .. A regular supply of food to the sheep is es- 
sential to the growth of good wool; for that part 
of the hair which grows when the animal is in a 
high state of flesh, will be thick, and that which is 
grown when it is reduced by hunger, will be weak 
and thin; and consequently the thickness of . hair 
will always be irregular, if the animal passés from. 
one extreme to the other.” 

The observation made with regard to fattening 
and milking in cattle appears to be applicable to 
fattening and the production of wool in sheep— 
namely, that the animal of diminished sensibility 
will most easily fatten, while the animal of in- 
creased sensibility will most readily produce wool. 


SHEEP. 349 


It is with physiological reason on his side, 
that Sir John Sebright says, “ Perhaps the great 
secretion of yolk [bulb], so essential to the produc- 
tion of fine wool, and which is excessive in the 
Merino sheep, may be incompatible with the 
- fattening quality.” 

Fattening and the best wool appear, however, in 
some constitutions, not to be altogether incom- 
patible. 

Dr. Copland, in the following letter, testifies 
that he had seen the Shetland sheep, remarkable 
for fineness of fleece, become fat when well fed 
during the summer, 


Dear Sir, 

The Shetland sheep are very small; their faces 
are small and short; and their legs are long, rela- 
tively to the proportions of the south country 
breeds.—Their fleeces are generally fine and soft, 
commonly white, but sometimes grey, brown, or 
brownish black, and rarely spotted or of different 
colours. The finest fleeces are usually white, and 
the points of the wool are somewhat coarser and 
more curled than the rest. The Shetland mutton 
is delicate and finely flavoured. 

The stunted heath, the grassy sides of the bare 
hills, and the commons of the country, are the 


chief pasturages, both in summer and winter. 


350 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


During the latter season, the sheep have no other 
shelter than is afforded them by the cliffs or abrupt 
acclivities within their range. In the spring, how- 
ever, those which are intended to be killed at the 
end of summer or autumn, are, in parts of the 
country, conveyed to small islands, which abound 


with a rich grass, or other pasture, where they 
oiten become as fat as the best south-country 
sheep; but, in their usual ranges of common pas- 
turage, they are rarely very fat. These ranges 
are commonly elevated from two or three hundred 
to one thousand or one thousand five hundred feet 
above the level of the sea;—but about the end of 
autumn and winter, the sheep leave the highest for 
the lowest elevations. And even on the approach 
of a storm or of inclement weather in summer, they 
choose the lower and more sheltered situations. 
When they remain towards night near the summits 
of the higher hills, it is a sure indication of some 
continuance of very temperate or fine weather. 

In situations near the sea, they sometimes come 
down to the shores, particularly in winter, and 
when the ground is covered by snow, or the milder 
sea air thaws the snow in these parts, and allows a 
scanty herbage to spring up for their sustenance. 
When the ground is more completely covered by 
snow, they sometimes have recourse to the fuci on 
the sea shore as the tide retires, but this is rarely 


SHEEP. 351 


the case. They as rarely receive any sustenance 


from their owners; and, when they do, it consists 
chiefly of refuse cabbage-leaves, &c. 

I believe that in many parts, the fine wool is 
much coarser than formerly, owing to the introduc- 
tion of south-country breeds of sheep. 


I am, dear Sir, yours truly, 


Bulstrode-street. 2 Feb. 1838. JAMES CoPLAND. 
To Alexander Walker, Esq. 


In answer to the question, ‘‘ In sheep, are fat- 
tening and the production of the best wool incom- 
patible 2” my correspondent * * * (11, January) 
says, “ My experience is in long-wooled sheep: 
and among the Leicester breed, the inclination 
to become fat and to the production of the best 
wool is certainly quite compatible. T rather think 
that the sheep which produce the finest wool will 
fatten quicker than those that produce coarser 
wool.” 

Of our two most remarkable breeds of sheep, 
Mr. Knight says, (8, January} “ The Spanish 
sheep is (I can adduce satisfactory evidence) the 
old Tarantine sheep; and its habits are so esta- 
blished that, even in rich pastures in this country, 
it retains through many generationsits fine wool not 
perceptibly changed . . . A well-formed Leicester 


352 APPLICATION TO DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 


sheep will gain in a short time great weight of flesh 
and fat, and it must be admitted to have a good 
constitution: but it is nevertheless a very nesh 


animal—it can bear neither fatigue, nor hunger, 


nor hardship of any kind.” 

Sir J. Sebright, as already observed, doubts the 
assertion that the beautiful shape of Mr. Elman’s 
South Down sheep was obtained by crossing with 
the new Leicester, and their fine wool by crossing 
with the Merino breed. 

In putting to my correspondent * * * the 
question, “Js the supposed origin of Mr. El- 
man’s South Down sheep, or rather their improve- 
ment by crosses with the new Leicester and the 
Merino, probable?” his reply (11, January) was, 
« I believe Mr. Elman always denied that there 
was any such cross in his sheep, and I know that a 
skilful man may produce so great an alteration in 
the character of any breed of domestic animals by 
carefully and steadily selecting from among them, 
as breeders, such as possess the qualities he wishes 
to obtain, and rejecting such as he does not, that 
no outward appearance of any such breed would 
induce me to disbelieve the word of a respectable 
man. It certainly is possible. that Mr. Elman 
may have crossed with the Leicester; but for the 
reason first given, I do not believe he did. It is 
in the highest degree improbable that he ever could 
have crossed with the Merinos.” 


SHEEP, 353 


I have already observed that the error which all 
such questions imply—an error which I did not 
perceive when putting the one last mentioned—is, 
that they suppose the production of wool not to 
depend on the same system with the shape of the 
animal, As, however, they both depend on the 
locomotive system, it is evident that, in every cross, 


they must both be given by the same animal, and 
consequently that the wool cannot be derived from 
one, and the shape from another. 

It is scarcely necessary to observe, with Sir John 
Sebright, that the fineness of the fleece, like 
every other property, may be improved by selection 
m breeding. 

Cattle and sheep, are alike required to be ma- 
ture, of full stature, in good health, perfect vigour, 
and in entire possession of all their faculties, when 
the male is put to the female for breeding. 

The Application of the Natural Laws to the 
Breeding of Sheep corresponds so nearly to that 
for the breeding of cattle (except as to the 4th 
head), that it need not be repeated here.—An 
additional rule also springs out of the third para- 
graph preceding this one. 


PARE V 


VAGUE METHODS AFFECTING PROGENY 
ADOPTED AMONG MANKIND. 


As, under the vague methods regulating progeny 
adopted in the breeding of domesticated animals, I 
availed myself of the authority of the best ob- 
servers, I follow the same plan here. 

Of these methods, Camper gave a melancholy 
picture. Some, he says, “for the purpose of 
having handsome children, have recourse, as Pliny 
observes, to ridiculous means and magical con- 
jurations; while others consult the state of the 
stars, as Quillet advises in his Callipzedia. In 
short, nothing has been too whimsical or too ab- 
surd to be resorted to for this purpose.” 


In more recent times, many have indistinctly 
seen that “the hereditary transmission of physical 
and moral qualities, so familiarly acted on in. 
breeding domesticated animals, is equally true of 


2 


man. 


SECTION I. 


_ BREEDING IN-AND -IN. 


Of in-and-in breeding among mankind, Dr. 
Hancock (15, August) says, “ To the want of re- 
novation, I conceive, we may chiefly attribute 
the barbarism which, for unnumbered ages, has 
reigned in Africa, and probably in the South Sea 
islands, and amongst the aboriginal tribes of Ame- 
rica; and a jealousy of strangers, perhaps, has 
kept the Chinese stationary for many thousands of 
years. 

« The Arowaks and other American tribes roam 
at perfect liberty through their native forests and 
savannahs, but, as it were by one universal magic 
spell or enchantment, they are all kept most strictly 
to their respective tribes; and by such isolation, 
through a long succession of ages, they have 
dwindled into pigmies compared with those whose 
races are renovated and refreshed by inosculation, 
or engrafting of other varieties.” 

For the obstacles that, among ourselves, are fre- 
quently opposed to the union of persons of dif 
ferent classes, the chief motive is the desire of 
keeping in a state of wealthy ease the few who 
support aristocracy against the many who obey. 


356 VAGUE METHODS AFFECTING CHILDREN. 


The marriages of the former, therefore, frequently 
depend upon wealth and rank, without any regard 
being paid to personal qualities; and the con- 
sequences are, that the qualities that originally 
elevated one class above another pass away, and 
their families rapidly degenerate. 

“The marriages of high rank and of hereditary 
wealth,” says Sir Anthony Carlisle, who has long 
and well observed these things, “are generally con- 
cocted in their muniment rooms, where the estates 
of heirs and heiresses are entailed, together with 
the personal peculiarities, moral defects, and here- 
ditary diseases of each family, and perpetuated as 
far as law, sheep-skins, signings and seals can ex- 
tend them. Hence the frequent termination of such 
inbred races; while, in every ancient village, of 
considerable, though not shitting population, the 
names of humble families have continued for more 
ages, although ill recorded, than those of the proud- 
est gentry.” 

We cannot, therefore, be astonished to see that, 
in marriages thus founded solely on interest, and 
accompanied either by perfect indifference or by 
inconceivable antipathy, the results are domestic 
misery, sterility, or weak and unhealthy children, 
and numerous crim. con. actions. 

Moreover, as Mr. Lawrence observes, it is in 
the rulers, in those to whom the destinies of na- 


SELECTION. 357 


tions are entrusted, and on whose qualities and 


actions depend the present and future happiness of 
millions, that the evilis at its height: laws,cus- 
toms, prejudices, pride, bigotry, confine them to 
intermarriages with each other, and thus degrada- 
tion of race is added to all the pernicious influences 
inseparable from such stations . . . The strongest 
illustration of these principles will be found in the 
present state of many royal and aristocratic houses 
in Europe: the evil must be progressive, if the 
same course of proceeding be continued. 


SECTION II. 
SELECTION. 


Mr, Lawrence observes, that “a superior breed 
of human beings could be produced only by selec- 
tions and exclusions similar to those so success- 
fully employed in rearing our more valuable ani- 
mals. Yet, in the human species, where the ob- 
ject is of such consequence, the principle is almost 
entirely overlooked . . . Hence all the native de- 
formities of mind and body, which spring up so 
plentifully in our artificial mode of life, are handed 
down to posterity, and tend, by their multiplica- 


858 VAGUE METHODS AFFECTING CHILDREN. 


tion and extension, to degrade the race. Con- 
sequently, the mass of the population in our large 
cities will not bear a comparison with that of savage 
nations, in which, if imperfect or deformed indivi- 
duals should survive the hardships of their first 
rearing, they are prevented by the kind of aver- 
sion they inspire, from propagating their defor- 
mities,”” 

“If the same constraint were exercised over 
men,” says Dr. Pritchard, “which produces such 
remarkable effects among the brute kinds, there is 
no doubt that its influence would be as great. But 
no despot has ever thought of amusing himself in 
this manner, or at least such an experiment has 
never been carried on upon that extensive scale, 
which might lead to important results . . . Some- 
thing of this kind was indeed attempted by the 
kings of Prussia, but their project referred to sta- 
ture . . . [tis well known, that the King of Prus- 
sia had a corps of gigantic guards, consisting of 
the tallest men who could be drawn together from 
all quarters. A regiment of these huge men was 
stationed during fifty years at Potsdam. <‘ A 
great number of the present inhabitants of that 
place,’ says Forster, ‘ are of a very high stature, 


which is more especially striking in the numerous 
gigantic figures of women. This certainly is 
owing to the connexions and intermarriages of the 
tall men with the females of that town.’ 


SELECTION. 359 


« Certain moral causes, however, have an influ- 
ence on mankind, which appears in some degree to 
lead to similar ends . . . In countries where the 
people are divided into different ranks or orders of 
society, which is almost universally the case, 
the improvement of person which is the result of 
the above-mentioned cause, will always be much 
more conspicuous in the higher than in the inferior 
classes.” 

“In no instance, perhaps,” says Lawrence, 
“ has the personal beauty of a people been more 
improved, by introducing handsome individuals to 
breed from, than in the Persians, of whom the 


nobility have, by this means, completely succeeded 


in washing out the stain of their Mongolian origin. 
< That the blood of the Persians,’ says Chardin, ‘is 
naturally gross, appears from the Guebres, who are 
a remnant of the ancient Persians, and are an ugly, 
ill-made, rough-skinned people.’ This is also ap- 
parent from the inhabitants of the provinces in the 
neighbourhood of India, who are nearly as clumsy 
and deformed as the Guebres, because they never 
formed alliances with any other tribes. But, in the 
other parts of the kingdom, the Persian blood is 
now highly refined by frequent intermixtures with 
the Georgians and Circassians, two nations which 
surpass all the world in personal beauty. There 
is hardly a man of rank in Persia who is not born 


360 VAGUE METHODS AFFECTING CHILDREN. 


of a Georgian or Circassian mother; and even the 
king himself is commonly sprung, on the female 
side, from one or other of these countries. As it 
is long since this mixture commenced, the Persian 
women have become very handsome and beautiful, 
though they do not rival the ladies of Georgia. The 
men are generally tall and erect, their complexion 
is ruddy and vigorous, and they have a graceful air 
and an engaging deportment. The mildness of the 
climate, joined to their temperance in living, has a 
great influence in improving their personal beauty. 
This quality they inherit not from their ancestors ; 
for, without the mixture mentioned above, the men 
of rank in Persia, who are descendants of the Tar- 
tars [Mongols], would be extremely ugly and 
deformed.” 

These effects are everywhere observed. Captain 
Cook, describing the people of Owhyhee, says, 
« The same superiority which is observed in the 
Erees (nobles) in all the other islands, is found 
also here. ‘Those whom we saw were, without ex- 
ception, perfectly well formed, whereas the lower 
sort, besides their general inferiority, are subject 
to all the variety of make and figure that is seen in 
the populace of other countries.” 


CROSSING. 


SECTION III. 


CROSSING. 


« In some parts of Ireland,” says Dr. Pritchard, 
“& where the Celtic population of that island are 
Nearly unmixed, they are, in general, a people of 
short stature, small limbs and features: where they 
are mixed with English settlers, or with the Low- 
landers of Scotland, the people are remarkable for 
fine figures, tall stature, and great physical energy. 


« Pallas informs us, that even intermarriages 
of Russians and Tartars with the Mongolians, 
who differ widely from both of these races in their 
physical character, are very frequent in Mongolia. 

. . The children born from these marriages are 
thus described in Pallas’s Memoir on the Mongo- 
lian Nations. These children have agreeable and 
sometimes beautiful features, whilst those of an 
origin purely Kalmuc or Mongol, preserve, till ten 
years of age, a countenance deformed and bloated, 
a cacochymous aspect, which disappears only with 
the growth of the body.” 

*“ In Paraguay, the mixed breed constitutes, 
according to Don Felix de Azara, a great majority 
of the people termed Spaniards or white men; and 
they are said to be a people superior in physical 

R 


362 VAGUE METHODS AFFECTING CHILDREN. 


qualities to either of the races from which they 
have sprung, and much more prolific than the 
aborigines.* 

“ The offspring of the Dutch by the Hottentot 
women,” says Moodie, “are distinguished for 
uniting in their persons the vices of both races. 
In point of understanding, they are superior to the 
Hottentots; and, by what I have seen of them, I 
should think that, under other circumstances, many 
of them would show a decided superiority over the 
Dutch. They assume it over the Hottentots, with 
whom they live, and hate the white population, to 


whose society they can never aspire. They are 


_ also a taller and stouter race than the Hottentots, 
and share in some degree in the constitutional ten- 
dency of the Dutch to corpulence. The intermix- 
ture of races seems to improve the intellectual 
powers as much as it does the bodily proportions.” 


* “© Ces métis s’unirent en général les uns aux autres, 
parcequ'il ne passe en Amérique que très peu de femmes 
Européennes, et ce sont les descendans de ces métis qui 
composent aujourd'hui au Paraguay la plus grande partie 
de ce qu'on appelle Espagnols. Ils me paraissent avoir 
quelque superiorité sur les Espagnols d’ Europe, par leur 
taille, par Félégance de leurs formes, et même par la blan- 
cheur de leur peau. Ces faits, me font soupconner non 
seulement que le mélange des races les améliore, mais en- 
core que l'espèce Européenne l'emporte à la longue sur 
T Americaine, ou du moins le masculin sur le feminin.” 


CROSSING. 363 


In South America, Dr. Hancock (15, August) 
says, “The Mulattoes, unfortunately and unge- 
nerously held in degradation, are not naturally 
inferior, I believe, to their fathers, either in moral 
or physical powers,—but certainly, far in advance 
of the primitive African race. At least, we may 
Say, they are above the medium of the two castes 
from which they spring. 

“ Tt is a well-known fact, that the Samboes of 
South America—the progeny of Blacks and Indians, 
are remarkable for their physical superiority over 
their progenitors of either side.— But I need 
only allude to these people: I believe they have 
been duly noticed by Humboldt and other tra- 
vellers. 

“ Many obvious examples, however, might be 
adduced, where people are less kept under restraint 
—as at St. Domingo, and in those called Maroons 
at the back parts of Surinam. These originated 
from negro deserters from the Dutch estates, who 
formed settlements up the Courantine, and inter- 
Married with the native tribes; and this union has 
produced a most athletic and vigorous race of mer, 
active and enterprising, who present an extraordi- 
nary contrast compared with their ancestral line of — 
either side. Some of these, on trading projects, 
We met with in the interior in 1811, at Mahana- 
rawa’s (the Carib king), where, indeed, the abori- 


R 2 


564 VAGUE METHODS AFFECTING CHILDREN. 


ginal natives, who are comparatively timid, would 
scarcely dare to show themselves. I presume that, 
at this time, all the neighbouring tribes combined 
would scarcely be a match for them. 

“It is not only, however, in the mingling of 
distinct races, that we observe an amelioration or 
improvement in the progeny. Results nearly equal, 
perhaps, arise from intermarriages amongst differ- 
ent tribes of the same caste. This is exemplified 
in the striking superiority of the creole negroes, in 
corporeal and mental powers, compared with their 
African parents who came from different tribes. 
Of the Maroons in the West India Islands, Dallas 
observes, ‘ They displayed a striking distinction in 
their personal appearance, being blacker, taller, 
and in every respect handsomer than those on the 
estates.—In their person and carriage, erect, lofty, 
indicating a consciousness of superiority, vigour ap- 
peared in their muscles, and their motions dis- 
played agility. They possessed most, if not all, of 
the senses in a superior degree.’ 

«The Caribes are the only American tribe who, 


without restraint, take wives from the other tribes 


adjacent; and their superiority over all their neigh- 
bours is too well known to require a word in 
illustration. | 

“ I do not know if the progress of the American 
republic may not be, in some measure, attributable 


CROSSING. 865 


to the circumstances here considered. ‘The Ame- 
ricans—a melange of all the different nations of 
Europe, though mostly of English, Scottish and 
Irish descent, are noted for activity and enterprise ; 
and their march of improvement, in practical sci- 
ence, the mechanical arts, and commerce, has sur- 
passed what could have been anticipated in a people 
cast into a wilderness so distant from the civilized 


world. Their rapid increase and improvement has 
attracted the admiration of all Europe, and they 
have offered to the world a splendid example of 
justice and national freedom. 

« May I suggest a hint for your consideration ? 
—It appears to me probable, that the most magni- 
ficent empires have owed their foundation chiefly 


to great migrations, or im-migrations, of the human 
race.” 

From the authorities now quoted, it is evident 
that, destitute of principles as is crossing among 
the varieties of mankind, its advantages have been 
generally observed and acknowledged; and this 
g, in the 
next Part, what constitute the best intermarriages 
among mankind. 


preliminary was necessary to my showin 


See 


Se 


PART VIII. 


CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE AS PRESCRIBED 
BY THE NATURAL LAWS AND THEIR MO- 
DIFICATIONS, 


SECTION I. 


GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON AGE, STATURE, &e. 


In the various Sections of this Part, the facts and 
principles stated in the preceding parts of the 
work, as well as those in the work on Beauty, are 
briefly referred to, in order to apply them to choice 
in intermarriage. The brief reference made to 
these facts and principles, however, will be quite 
inadequate, unless, by the perusal of the preceding 
Parts, and of the work on Beauty, they are pre- 


viously well understood ; such reference now serv- 
ing the purpose merely of calling them to mind. 
With regard to age, it has been seen that it is 


GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 367 


most natural to the young man to admire beauty of 
the locomotive system ;—to the middle-aged man, 
to admire beauty of the vital system -—and to the 
older man, to admire beauty of the mental system ; 
but that, as woman is more precocious than man, 
she becomes more advanced in reference to Sex, 
than man at the same age; and consequently, to be 
duly matched to her husband, the wife should be 
the younger. 

As the average stature of woman is two or three 
inches less than that of man, and her whole figure 
is slenderer, these proportions are naturally pre- 
ferred. Women, indeed, who are too tall, are 


generally awkward; and a low stature is far less 


objectionable. 

As to general figure, the magnitude of the 
hanches, in woman, has the chief influence on the 
proportion of parts naturally preferred by man. 

Man, as we have seen, has the shoulders wider 
than those of woman: woman has the hanches 
more capacious than those of man. The up- 
per part of the body also projects less ante- 
riorly, and the lower part projects more in woman 
than in man. ‘The hanches of woman are more 
apart; her hips, more elevated; her abdomen, 
larger; and her thighs, more voluminous. And as, 
with these proportions and developements, all the 
functions most essentially feminine—impregnation, 


368 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


gestation, and parturition, are intimately connected, 
such proportions and developements are naturally 


preferred. 

In woman, consequently, as an object of choice, 
the head, shoulders and chest, should be relatively 
small and compact; and the arms and limbs should 
be relatively short, and should taper as they re- 
cede from the trunk, while the hands and feet 
should be small. Thus her body should taper up- 
wards, as her limbs taper downwards. 

Owing, then, as we have seen, to smaller sta- 
ture, and to greater size of the abdomen, the 
middle point of the figure, which is at the pubes in 
man, is higher in woman; and this also he prefers 
in her, as an object of choice j—as well as that her 
members be, as naturally they are, more rounded, 
her soft parts less hard, her forms less angular, and 
her traits finer. 

The reader has further seen that man naturally 
and necessarily seeks next, not for qualities which 
are his own, but for those of which he is not in 
possession—something different, something new, 
something capable of exciting him; that this con- 
forms to the fundamental difference of the sexes; 
and that those marriages in which such qualities 
exist are always more prolific than others. He 
bears in mind Mr. Knight’s corroboration of this, 
that “the most powerful human minds will be 


GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 369 


found in offspring of parents of different hereditary 
constitutions,” and that he has “ witnessed the bad 
effects of marriages between two individuals very 
similar to each other in character and colour, and 
springing from ancestry of similar character.” 

Amidst these differences, it is evident that we 
should profit by rendering them the means of cor- 
recting faulty organization, and of annulling in 
children the effects of hereditary predispositions. 

Now, on this important point, the reader is aware 
that, according to the laws of resemblance, the qua- 
lities of the father and mother are communicated to 
their progeny, not in various and minute fractional 
parts, but in halves—in the anterior, or the poste- 
rior, series of organs, and in no other way; that 
man, however, has to do only with the law of Se- 
lection, because by its means he can achieve every 
influence upon progeny ; and that, by placing him- 
self in suitable relation to an appropriate partner in 
intermarriage, man, unless all the most undisputed 
facts of breeding be false, has (precisely as the 
breeder has among lower animals) the power to re- 
produce and to preserve either series of organs— 
the best, instead of the worst portion of his organi- 
zation. 

The reader will probably remember the observa- 
tion of Dr. Pritchard, that “If the same constraint 
were exercised over men, which produces such re- 

R 


370 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


markable effects among the brute kinds, there is no 
doubt that its influence would be as great ;” while 
he has seen the establishment of those natural laws 
of which neither such writers, as they themselves 
avow, nor the breeders of animals, had any concep- 
tion. 

In these general observations, it remains only to 
remind the reader, that the organization of the 
woman destined to reproduce, should be of the best 
kind; and that maturity, exercise, and perfection 
in every function, are equally essential; for, as are 
these and their adaptation to the male, so will be 
the perfection of the progeny. 

In society, however, we see persons not only re- 
gardless of imperfect organization and function, but 
of actual disease. Some consequently are childless ; 
whilst others become the parents of beings destined 
to a life of suffering. Laws assuredly ought to 
prescribe proper means for insuring the natural 
conformation and health of both parties, and should 
forbid marriage before each had furnished a. certifi- 
cate vouching for these. Monstrosities and dis- 
eases capable of being transmitted by generation, 
should also be regarded as so many physical causes 
of divorce. By this means, not only sterility and 


deformities, but degeneration of the species, would 
be avoided. 


LOCOMOTIVE SYSTEM. 


SECTION IL 


AS TO THE LOCOMOTIVE SYSTEM. 


From my work on Beauty, I may first quote a 
general account of beauty of the Locomotive Sys- 
tem, as necessary to understanding the subject, and 
as a guide to choice. 

«In the woman possessing this species of beauty, 
the face is generally somewhat bony and oblong ;— 
the neck, less connected with the nutritive system, 
is rather long and tapering;—the shoulders, without 
being angular, are sufficiently broad and definite for 
muscular attachments ;—the bosom, a vital organ, is 
but of moderate dimensions ;—the waist, enclosing 
smaller nutritive organs, is remarkable for fine pro- 
portion, and resembles, in some respects, an in- 
verted cone ;—the haunches, for the same reason, 
are but moderately expanded ;—the thighs are pro- 
portional ;—the arms, as well as the limbs, being 
formed chiefly of locomotive organs, are rather long 
and moderately tapering; the hands and feet are 
moderately small ;—the complexion, owing to the 
inferiority of the nutritive system, is often rather 
dark ;—and the hair is frequently dark and strong. 
—The whole figure is precise, striking, and often 
brilliant. — From its proportions, it sometimes 


372 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


seems almost aerial; and we should imagine, that if 
our hands were placed under the lateral parts of 
the tapering waist of a woman thus characterized, 


the slightest pressure would suffice to throw her 
into the air, 


“ To this class belong generally the more firm, 
vigorous, and even actively impassioned women : 


though it may doubtless boast many of greatly mo- 
dified character. 

“ The chief modifications of this species should 
next be understood. 

“ The first of these is that in which the deve- 
lopement of the bones, those of the pelvis ex- 
cepted, is proportionally small.—This character 
will be especially apparent where the long bones 
approach the surface; as in the arm immediately 
above the wrist, and in the leg immediately above 
the ancle. 

“The second modification of this species of 
beauty is that in which the developement of the 
ligaments and the articulations they form, those 
also of the pelvis excepted, is proportionally small. 
—This conformation will be especially apparent, — 
in the arm, at the wrist,—and, in the leg, at the 
ancle. | 

“The third modification of this species of beauty 
is that in which the developement of the muscles is 
proportionally large around the pelvis, and delicate 


LOCOMOTIVE SYSTEM. 373 


elsewhere.—This conformation being concealed by 
the drapery, may nevertheless be conjectured from 
the imperfect view of the hip, or of the calf of the 
leg, or more accurately by means of the external 
indications of form given elsewhere.” 


‘The points of beauty as to the trunk and extre- 
mities must lastly be understood, as essential to 
choice. 

In the former, the shoulders should not be much 
narrower than the pelvis, because that would indi- 
cate excessive weakness of the locomotive system. 

The upper part of the trunk, including the 
shoulders, should form an inverted cone, because 
otherwise the lightness and beauty of the locomo- 
tive system is destroyed. 

As to the trunk, the rest is obvious from the pre- 
ceding general description. 

In the arms, it must be remembered that the 
bones, ligaments and muscles belong to the locomo- 
tive system, and their fundamental beauty depends 
upon its proportions; while to the nutritive sys- 
tem are owing in woman, their roundness, their 
softer forms and their more flowing outlines. 

The hand in.-woman ought to be much smaller, 
plumper, softer and whiter than in man, gently 
dimpled over the first jomts, having the fingers 
long, round and tapering, the other joints marked 
by slight reliefs, the fingers delicate and flexible, 


374 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


and the nails extending as far as their tips, arched, 
smooth, polished, slightly transparent, and rose- 
coloured. Some of these circumstances, however, 
depend on the vital system. 

The form of the hand appears, in some cases, to 
have more of an intellectual character than in 
others; nor is this to be wondered at, seeing that 
it is the principal organ of the sense which is the 
most valuable. 

It should always be remembered, that want of 
moderate exercise of every kind is the great cause 
of universal deformity of the arms among women 
of the more opulent classes. 

In regard to the lower extremities (of which also 
the bases belong to the locomotive system, though 
some characteristics of the vital system must be 
involved in describing them), it is essential to re- 
member, that the width of the hanches should 
cause the further separation of the thigh-bones ; 
that the muscles of the thighs having larger origins 
from the pelvis, should be more voluminous; that 
the hanches should reach their greatest extent at 
the upper part of the thighs, which also rise an- 
teriorly as high as the pubes; that the thighs of 
women should, consequently, be remarkable for 
their fulness, their soft outlines, and their ex- 
quisite polish,—much of the delicacy, ease, sup- 
pleness, and grace of the female form resulting 


LOCOMOTIVE SYSTEM. 375 


from this; and that they should also ‘be more 
curved before than in man. 

It is also to be remembered, that the knees 
should approximate, because a vacuity between the 
thighs, unfavourable to sexual purposes, would 
otherwise exist; that all the other parts of the 
limbs should present forms more softly rounded ; 
that the feet being smaller, the base of support 
should be less extended; and that the feet are sus- 
ceptible of a great degree of beauty. 

It is evident that woman’s extremities being 
thus feeble, her muscular power is confined chiefly 
to the vicinity of the pelvis. 

As the parts of the limbs are concealed by dra- 


pery, the best external indications of their form, 
and the developement of their parts, must be re- 
ferred to in my work on Beauty. 

As connected with the muscular system and 
with expression, it is known that the flute part of 


the throat in woman should be smaller than in 
man; and that her voice should also be much more 
acute. 

Such being essential characteristics of this sys- 
tem in woman, the best guidance in choice is 
thereby afforded. One or two observations may | 
be added. 

Although, in the locomotive system, man gene- 
rally prefers a less stature, woman a taller, Rous- 


376 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


seau’s observation must be remembered—that * by 
the extreme weakness of women commences that 
of men,” and that “ women ought not to be robust 
like men, but for them, in order that the men born 
of them may be so likewise.” 

It has been observed, that if sexual proportions 
be reversed, by man being little, and woman tall, 
those opposites will naturally be sought for; and 
that an effeminate man is better matched with:a 
masculine woman, though for him it is a despicable 
position. 

It has also been observed, that the female may 
give her locomotive system, character, or shape to 
progeny, simply by being relatively more vigo- 
rous; but that vast disadvantage must attend this 
method, since it implies the relative debility of the 
male parent. 

It has likewise been observed, that the shorter 
body, longer limbs, and meagre frame of some of our 
own northern races may, in progeny, be corrected 
by intermarriage with the longer bodied, shorter 
limbed, and more fully formed races of our south- 
eastern counties. 


From what has been previously said, it will more- 
over appear, that, in choice, deception as to some 
points which the mother may be supposed capable 
of communicating to progeny, will be avoided, by 
bearing in mind that either the eyebrows, or the 


LOCOMOTIVE SYSTEM. 377 


lower part of the nose, or the under lip, in the 
woman chosen, will probably be altered in her pro- 
geny; and also that the parent who gives the lo- 
comotive system does not give the carriage and the 
manner of walking, and consequently, though a 
woman may possess both of these last, she cannot 
communicate both. 

Respecting choice in the locomotive system, I 
have only to add a few words as to the influence of 
exercise on the forms of progeny. 

It is well known that the hands of a man who 
labours are much larger and stronger than those of 
one who never labours; and accoucheurs have ob- 
served, that the hand of the son of such labourer 
will be larger, and better adapted for labour in 
consequence. The same is the case with every 
part of the locomotive system.—On the contrary, 
families of ancient ancestry, whose progenitors 
have for ages lived in indolence, are small in bodily 
frame and locomotive system. 

Defect of this kind is more frequently derived 
from the female than from the male. Women of 
the opulent classes are kept, whilst young and 
growing, to ornamental work, books and music. 
They seldom go on foot to any distance from home, 
but employ easy, close and warm carriages, so that 
their locomotive system is not developed by exer- 
tion. Even their music is less frequently attended 


378 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


by the merry dance than it ought to be. Hence, 
these females are delicate and diminutive in sta- 
ture, whilst the farmers’ daughters, who take an 
active part in household affairs, are strong and 
healthy. 

The males of these families do sometimes make 
the best of their natural frame, by athletic exer- 
cises ; but that will not completely remedy the de- 
fects of a bad locomotive system derived from a 
mother brought up in indolence and ease; and they 
may, as observed by Mr. Thacker, to whom I am 
indebted for several good observations on this sub- 
ject, be considered as only half-bred. 


Moreover, they generally intermarry with those 


who have been reared and brought up like their 
mothers, which may be regarded as a kind of in- 
and-in breeding, and which has its ill effects. In 
some cases, indeed, a degree of absolute in-and- 
in breeding is added to all other defects; and this 
continuing generation after generation, these fami- 
lies rapidly degenerate in stature and muscu- 
larity. 

Even during pregnancy, too sedentary a life is 
injurious both to the mother and the infant, and 
for this reason women in the country, who are 
inured to daily toil, give birth to strong healthy 
children, and are also generally more fruitful. 

It is not, therefore, sufficient that human beings 


VITAL SYSTEM. 879 


should be born with a good organization only: in 
order either to retain this, or to convey it to their 
descendants, they must preserve it by exercise in | 


the highest state of developement. 

It is well known, that if a stallion be prevented, 
even by accidental lameness, from obtaining exer- 
cise, he is sure to be deficient in muscular powers, 
and to convey that deficiency to his offspring. It 
is also known, that even a horse or mare’s being no 
longer capable of ordinary work, or having suffered 
from hard and continued labour, is certainly in- 
jurious to progeny.—The laws of nature are sim- 


ple and universal. 


SECTION III. 


AS TO THE VITAL SYSTEM. 


I have already observed, that the vital system is 
peculiarly the system of woman ; and that so truly 
is this the case, that any great employment either 
ofthe locomotive or mental organs, deranges the 
peculiar functions of woman, and destroys the cha- 
racteristics of her sex. The women of the la- 
bouring classes are notorious examples of this; 


SS a - = 


380 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE, 


and intellectual ladies either seldom ‘become 
mothers, or they become intellectual when they 
have ceased to be mothers, 

I give a general description of this species from 
my work on Beauty. 

“In the woman possessing this species of 
beauty, the face is generally rounded, to give 
greater room to the cavities connected with nu- 
trition ;—the eyes are generally of the softest 
azure, which is similarly associated ;—the neck is 
often rather short, in order intimately to connect 
the head with the nutritive organs in the trunk ;— 
the shoulders are softly rounded, and owe any 
breadth they may possess rather to the expanded 
chest, containing these organs, than to any bony or 
muscular size of the shoulders themselves ;—the 
bosom, a vital organ, in its luxuriance, seems late- 
rally to protrude on the space occupied by the 
arms ;—the waist, though sufficiently marked, is, 
as it were, encroached on by that plumpness of 
all the contiguous parts which the powerful nu- 
tritive system affords 3—the hanches are greatly 
expanded for the vital purposes of gestation and 
parturition ;—the thighs are large in proportion ; 


—but the locomotive organs, the limbs and arms, 
tapering and becoming delicate, terminate in feet 
and hands which, compared with the ample trunk, 
are peculiarly small;—the complexion, dependent 


VITAL SYSTEM. 381 


upon nutrition, has the rose and lily so exquisitely 
blended, that we are surprised it should defy the 
usual operation of the elements ;—and there isa 
luxuriant profusion of soft and fine flaxen or au- 
burn hair. The whole figure is soft and volup- 
tuous in the extreme. 

« To this class belong all the more feminine, 
soft, and passively voluptuous women.” 

The chief modifications of this species of beauty 
should also be understood. © 

The first modification is that in which the diges- 
tive and absorbent system is small but active.— 
Hence women affect delicacy of appetite, and com- 
press the waist, and endeavour to render it slender. 

The second modification of this species of beauty 
is that in which the circulating vessels, being mo- 
derately active and finely ramified, render the sur- 
face of the skin turgid with transparent liquids, 
diffuse under that, the light and warm colouring of 
youth, permit the shades of azure veins to appear, 
or, where more patent, cast the hue of the rose 
over that of the lily. 

The third modification of this species of beauty, 
is that in which the active secreting vessels not 
only cause the plumpness, elasticity, softness, po- 
lish and whiteness necessary to beauty, but furnish 
the mammary and uterine secretions. 

It is now essential to a rational guidance of 


3282 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


choice, to point out suitable conditions of the vital 
system, as to age, form of the pelvis, &c. 

With regard to age, if that labour of nature 
which is necessary for the completion of the orga- 
nization be troubled by the premature pleasures of 
marriage, woman remains always of small stature, 
weak and pale. 

If pregnancy ensue, breeding will still more 
interfere with the developement of her structure 
and strength; she will be liable to abortions and 
fluxes; and the pains of childbirth may destroy 
her. 

If she become a mother, she cannot afford to her 
offspring a sufficiency of nutritious milk; her chil- 
dren will be weak and ailing; she must submit, in 


rearing them, to attentions and vigils exceeding 
her strength; and her youth will be passed in 
anxiety and grief, which bring on premature old 


age. 

Moreover, to the due performance of the duties 
of the married state, the greater or less develope- 
ment of another order of faculties—those consti- 
tuting mind, must be taken into consideration. 

For all these reasons, it is prudent to allow an in- 
terval of at least two years to take place between 
the appearance of the catamenia and marriage ; for it 
is then generally that they have acquired regularity, 
that woman reaches the period of her full growth, 


VITAL SYSTEM. 383 


and that there is a surplus of vital power necessary 
for the reproduction of the species. 

The age from twenty to twenty-five is the 
period at which women in England appear best 
adapted for becoming mothers. 

‘It may here be observed, that when a man past 
sixty marries a young girl, as is sometimes the 
case, he often pursues only the shadow of a plea- 
sure of which he can no longer seize the reality; 
and the misery entailed upon a young girl by mar- 
riage with an old man, should alone be a sufficient 
reason for legal opposition to such union. 

A well-organized woman, on the other hand, 
does not lose her desire for the pleasures of love 
when the catamenia have ceased. This occurs 
only in countries where, as in France, the vital 
system is bad. But it may perhaps be doubted by 
some, whether the marriage of a female in whom 
the characteristic sign of fruitfulness has ceased, 
should be suffered by law, seeing it is injurious to 
the state to deprive it of that portion of the popu- 
lation that could have been furnished to it by the 
young husband whom she usually appropriates. 
Dionysius the Tyrant replied to his mother, who, 
at an advanced period of life, wished to marry a 
young man, “ It is in my power to break the laws 
of Syracuse, but not those of nature.” I believe 
that Dionysius was wrong; and that these women 
are essential to the economy of nature. 


SEE ae ln a A ia E ties - íi 


ssa tal aie k atie asia 
T Praa = as 


PEE rag TEE ST cp 


tia 


S 


384 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


No circumstance, in choice, is more important 
than the form of the pelvis in woman; for upon 
this depends her own fate and that of her in- 
fant. 

That several national varieties exist in the form 
of the pelvis, appears to have been first clearly 
shown by Dr. Vrolik of Amsterdam, whose obser- 
vations have been reviewed by Professor Weber, of 
Bonn. In Weber’s opinion, the most frequently 
occurring form of pelvis among Europeans is the 
oval; the most frequent in the American nations, 
the round; the square, in people resembling the 
Mongolians ; and the oblong, in the races of Africa ; 
and there is a correspondence between these diver- 
sities and the shape of other parts of the Skeleton, 


‘and even of the skull. 


In intermarriage, the size of the pelvis is of vast 
importance. It is evident that the head of the 
foetus, which is generally five inches in diameter, 
cannot be expelled through the inferior aperture, 
if that is only about half that diameter. A woman 
thus formed, if unfortunately she become preg- 
nant, will be under the necessity of undergoing the 
Ceesarian operation, or the section of the symphysis 
pubis, or of witnessing the sacrifice of her child, 
removed piecemeal by the accoucheur. 


These malformations can in general scarcely be 


known without an examination which is opposed 


VITAL SYSTEM. 385 


by modesty ; and their existence consequently is 
often a secret till the first accouchement. | | 

We may, however, suspect malformation of the 
pelvis, says a recent writer, “ when the hollow of 
the back is so great as to force the last lumbar ver- 
tebra into the upper part of the cavity of the pel- 
vis; when the irregularities of the hip bones ele- 
vate it too much on one side; when the thighs 
press too much against each other in walking; 
and whenever there remain any traces of rachitis, 


such as crookedness in the long bones, or any ex- 


traordinary developement of their extremities. 

It is observed, nevertheless, that “there are 
some very deformed women in whom the pelvis 
possesses its natural proportions, so that they are 
delivered with ease; whilst there are many who, 
with the appearance of regular conformation, have 
some malformation that renders their first ac- 
couchement almost inevitably mortal. 

« As some persons may feel disposed to measure 
the exterior of a young female pelvis, for the pur- 
pose of forming a somewhat correct opinion as to 
its capacity, and whether delivery will be easy, or 
if the assistance of art will be necessary, the fol- 
lowing calculations have been given, as nearest to 
the true dimensions in females of middle size and 
moderate plumpness, 

“ From the upper part of the pubic eminence to 


S 


386 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. ., 


the sacrum, above the projection formed by the 
spinal apophysis of the last lumbar vertebra, there 
are, in a well-formed pelvis, seven French inches 
(190 millimetres); from the extreme projection of 
one hanch or ‘spine of the ilium to the other, eleven 
inches, six lines (800 millimetres); from the ex- 
treme projection of one hanch to the top of the 
tuberosity of the ischium of the same side, seven 
inches, eight lines (200 millimetres). 


“ A knowledge of the extent of the sacro-pubic 
diameter, is almost always the most important as 
regards any conception of the issue of a laborious 
delivery. The best method of obtaining this, in a 
living person, is, in measuring the exterior of the 
pelvis, to deduct from the total space existing be- 
tween the pubic eminence, and the top of the 
spinal apophysis of the first false vertebra of the sa- 
crum, the known thickness of the base of that bone, 


VITAL SYSTEM. 387 


and of the articulation of the pubes, in addition to 
the approximate thickness of the teguments and cel- 
lular tissue that cover these parts. This calculation 
is very simple, and its result differs very little from 
the actual dimensions of the diameter required.” 

“ What space of pelvis,” says Dr. M. Good, 
“is absolutely necessary to enable a living child, 
at its full time, to pass through it, has not been 
very accurately settled by obstetric writers, some 
maintaining, that this cannot take place where the 
conjugate diameter is less than two inches and a 
half, though it may till we reach this degree of 
narrowness; and others, that it cannot take effect 
under three inches. The difference in the size of 
the head in different children on their birth, and of 
the thickness of the soft parts within the pelvis in 
different women, may easily account for this varia- 
tion in the rule laid down. It is clear, however, 
from the acknowledgment of both parties, that if 
the dimension of the pelvis be much under three 
inches, delivery cannot be accomplished without 
the loss of the child.” 

It is the duty of medical attendants and rela- 
tives, says the writer before quoted, “ to point out 
to a female whose pelvis is ill formed, that, in 
marrying, she exposes herself to suffering which 
may end in death.” It would, however, be well if 


a law were in existence, that no girl should marry 
s 2 


388 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


when any malformation, duly attested by medical 
men, renders delivery physically impossible without 
imminent danger to the mother or to the child, or 
to both. To allow marriage between a healthy and 
active person and an infirm or deformed being, is 
to attack the happiness and health of the former, or 
the life of the latter. 


Into choice, the consideration of the signs of 


virginity next enter. 
These are principally the presence of the hymen, 
and some appearance of the sanguineous fluid at the 


first union. 

The hymen is a membrane of semilunar, or, occa- 
sionally, of circular form, which is stretched across 
the orifice of the vagina, leaving only an aperture 
sufficiently large to permit the catamenia to pass. 
It appears to be merely a duplicature of the mem- 
brane which lines the interior of that canal; and it 
diminishes in width until it is obliterated by exer- 
cise of the part. 

The importance of this sign is not the same 
among all nations. Amongst the greater part of the 
nations of Asia, and in some of those of Africa, and 
even among barbarous hordes in Europe, proofs of 
virginity are required on the marriage night. Among 
others, on the contrary, an opposite estimate is 
formed. Conolly tells us that, among the Toork- 
mans, “ for a man to marry a widow is a difficult 


VITAL SYSTEM: 389 


matter; for, unlike the Arabs, who consider mar- 
riage with widows ill-omened, the Toorkmans prefer 
them on account of their superior knowledge of the 
ménage, they being of course better acquainted 
with household duties than unmarried girls. In 
Arabia, only half price is given for a widow; but 
the Toorkman relicts are generally at a consider- 
able premium. It was related as an instance of a 
man’s great generosity, that he gave his daughter, a 
widow, to the brother of his deceased son-in-law, 
when he might have gotten to the value of 

I am afraid to say how many tomauns for her. 

The hymen exists in the foetus, and in women 
in whom it has not been destroyed by circumstances 
connected or unconnected with defloration. It has 
not, however, been bestowed exclusively upon 
women, as Haller imagined, as a distinctive mark 
of virginity. All the females of the mammiferous 
animals, of monkeys particularly, and even of 
cetacea, exhibit the hymen more or less deve- 
loped. 

This duplicature may be wanting from original 
malformation; the first catamenia, if the aperture 
be small,—or aù accident, as a fall,—or disease, as 


an ulcer, may destroy it. Complete inexperience of 
the pleasures of love has not always enabled the 
bride to furnish her husband with this uncertain 
evidence of virtue; and its loss for the most part is 
no proof of the absence of virginity. 


390 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


On the other hand, the presence of this mem- 
brane cannot constitute a sign of virginity. Zac- 
chias observes, that it is not ruptured when it is 
thick and hard, when there is a disproportion be- 
tween the organs, or when the sexual union has 
taken place only at periods of great relaxation. 
Gavard found it perfect in a female thirteen years 
of age, who was labouring under syphilis. Even 
conception has occurred in some cases, without 
the destruction of this membrane. Ruysch men- 
tions an accouchement, which could not be com- 
pleted without dividing a double hymen, which 
had not interfered with impregnation, but which 
prevented the exit of the child. The female, who 
was the subject of this case, had been long making 
useless efforts for her delivery, when Ruysch was 
called in. He perceived a first obstacle, a very 
thick and strong hymen; and he divided ib. A 
second obstacle appeared in a second membrane ; 
and a second incision was requisite. The delivery 
was then accomplished. 

Baudelocque says, « It is well known that the 
hymen is not always torn in the first union; and 
that it has been found entire in some women at the 
time of labour, I can myself adduce two examples,” 
The first was that of a young lady who assured 
him that she had not allowed perfect: access. In 
this case, the hymen shut the vagina very closely, 


VITAL SYSTEM. 391 


Se 


She, neverthe- 


and left but a very small opening. 
ere so found 


less, became pregnant; and the parts w 
at labour. In the other, the membrane alone re- 
sisted, for half an hour, all the efforts of the last 
periods of delivery.” 

Dr. Blundell says, “ Four impregnations, in 
which the hymen remained unbroken, have fallen 
under my notice; the diameter of the vaginal ori- 
fice not exceeding that of the smaller finger ; and 
this, too, though the male organ was of ordinary 
And again, “ I know of three cases 


eae 


dimensions.” 
in which the organ was not suffered to enter the 


vagina at all, and where, nevertheless—I suppose 
from the mere deposition of the reproductive liquid 


upon the vulva, impregnation took place.” 

An anthropological fact which sets this question 
completely at rest is this, which Ihave myself ob- 
served in the dissecting-room, namely, that the 
hymen is re-formed in women who abstain from 
sexual indulgence. This was found to be the case 
in the body of an old woman who bore evident 
marks of having been the mother of children. 

Mare, in the Dictionnaire des Sciences Médi- 
cales, says, “ A young female severely afflicted 
with syphilis, was brought to La Pitie. The hymen ~ 
was altogether wanting; the vagina greatly dilated ; 
and the external reproductive parts diseased. She 
was cured; and, to the astonishment of the medical 


- r amar. ia oan RTs Se aes 


aiaia oe a 


Tin naan a ca ie ila a cla 
CARIA Oe an 


SS oD PSs IN aa ay a 


a ion pn ee 


392 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


observers, a well-formed semilunar hymen was 
found.” 

Any flow of the sanguineous liquid is a sign 
equally uncertain. Y oung brides, says a French 
writer, whose virginity could not be called in ques- 
tion, have not given their husbands this proof; 
whilst other women evidently deflowered, have done 
so at several periods; for, in order that they may 
never be found wanting in so essential a point, 
women have invented a method of appearing always 
virgins. 

The bright red colour of the nipples, says Beck, 
the hardness of the mammæ, and the general ap- 
pearance of the female, all deserve attention, but 
they can seldom be of any practical utility in deter- 
mining the point under examination. 

As to the increased size of the neck, it is certain 
that indulgence in the pleasures of love may 
momentarily cause it. Hence the Romans were in 
the habit of measuring the thickness of the bride’s 
neck with a thread both on the morning of marriage, 
and the following one, and of thence concluding 
concerning her change of condition. We may, 
however, reasonably doubt the infallibility of this 
sign, as circumstances unconnected with marriage 


produce the same phenomenon. 

The lobe of the ear is asserted by some to be 
most frequently of a very bright and lively red some 
minutes after the enjoyment of love, 


VITAL SYSTEM. 393 

Considering the whole of these signs, the faculty 
of medicine at Leipsic has declared that there does 
not exist any true and certain sign of virginity 3 
and Morgagni is of a similar opinion. 

Of the prevention of conception, and conse- 
quently of its signs, Sonnini, speaking of the Greek 
women, says, “ Still less frequently do their sacri- 
fices to love leave any evident marks; and when 
tender feelings lead to tender faults, some simple 
and ingenious precautions, with which women are 
not unacquainted, prevent any accident without 
lessening complete enjoyment—artifices which, like 
the lessons, or rather the thefts of love, taught by 
Sappho and still remembered by her descendants, 
date in all probability from antiquity.” 

If there be few or no signs of virginity, it is far 
otherwise with signs of the habit of child-bearing, 
which I have described in the work on Beauty. 

The more minute indications of this kind are the 
streaks or fissures left on the abdomen and mam- 
mæ, owing to their previous distensions ; and 
others which affect the reproductive organs, but 
which need not here be described. 

Having now described beauty of the vital sys- 
tem and its modifications, pointed out the suitable 
conditions as to the age and the form of the pelvis, 

shown the uncertainty of all signs of virginity, and 
-referred to those of child-bearing, it seems expe- 
s 3 


ee ee a > g ee 
s s ane mene a eee ye E 


ene lila oils ~ cl ake a ma 


natin al eal He eine 


a a eg A a a L 
ge et a e e a w 


a tm 


394 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. _ 


dient, after these generalities, to give some account 
of the particular causes of impotence—herma- 
phrodism, malformation and diseases, before de- 
scribing those of aptitude for reproduction—the 
chief considerations as to choice, except those re- 
garding age and the pelvis, which fall under the 
vital system. 


Respecting impotence, the law of England as 
laid down by Blackstone, is as follows:—“ A total 
divorce is. given whenever it is proved that corporeal 
imbecility existed before marriage. In this case, 
the connexion is declared to be null and void ab 
initio. Imbecility may, however, arise after mar- 
riage; but it will not vacate it, because there was no 
fraud in the original contract, and one of the ends 
of marriage, the procreation of children, may have 
been answered.” 

By the English and Scottish law, sterility is a 
ground for divorce—according to the latter, only à 
mensé et thoro. 

The particular causes of sterility are either mal- 
formations or diseases of the reproductive organs. 

Under the first head falls hermaphrodism. And 
here it is scarcely necessary to say, that proper 
hermaphrodites, or beings having all the reproduc- 
tive organs of both sexes, and capable of perform- 
ing both kinds of reproductive functions, are alto- 
gether fabulous, ; 


VITAL SYSTEM. 395 


- An enlargement of the clitoris in woman is the 
cause of most of the mistakes on this subject. This 
enlargement seldom occurs in Europe, but it is 


frequent in warm climates, where its excision is a 
common practice. 

Sir Everard Home relates an instance of this 
kind in a Mandingo negress, twenty-four years of 
age. Her mamme were very flat; her voice 
rough; and her countenance masculine. The 
clitoris was two inches long, and in thickness re- 
sembled a common-sized thumb. When viewed 
at some distance, the end appeared round and of a 
red colour; but, on closer inspection, it was found 
to be more pointed than that of a penis, not flat 
below, and having neither prepuce nor perforation. 
When handled, it became half erected, and wag 
then three inches long, and much larger than before. 
On voiding water, she was obliged. to lift it up, as 
it covered the orifice of the urethra. The other 
parts of the female organs were in a natural state. 

Dr. Davis refers to a case of extirpation of the 
clitoris by Mr. Richard Simmons of London, m 
which the length was nine inches, and the circum- 
ference of the largest part of the stem, five inches. 
Its general appearance was very smooth and fleshy, 
and its upper surface covered with cuticle. 

M. St. Hilaire, who has paid great attention 
‘to this subject, divides the reproductive apparatus 


ini ant a i Ga amaaa 


396 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


into six different portions or segments, three on a 
side, which, in several respects, are independent of 
each other: 1 and 2, the deep-seated organs — 
testes and ovaries; 3 and 4, the middle organs— 
matrix or prostate and vesicule seminales; 5 and 
6, the external organs—penis and scrotum, cli- 
toris and vulva, 


When the number of these parts is not changed, 
and there is simply a modification in their deve- 
lopement, we have the first class or hermaphrodism 
without excess. This again is subdivided into four 
orders.—1, Male hermaphrodism, when the repro- 


ductive apparatus, essentially male, presents in 
some one portion the form of a female organ—as a 
scrotal fissure, resembling in some respects a vulva ; 
2, female hermaphrodism, where the apparatus, 
though essentially female, yet offers in some one 
portion the form of a male organ, as in the exces- 
sive developement of the clitoris; 8, neutral her- 
maphrodism, when the portions of the sexual appa- 
ratus are so mixed up, and so ambiguous, that it 
is impossible to ascertain to what sex the individual 
belongs; 4, mixed hermaphrodism, when - the 
organs of the two sexes are actually united and 
mixed in the same individual.—Of this last, there 
are several species : alternate, when the deep. or- 
gans belong to one sex, and the middle to the 
other, while the external present a mixture of 


VITAL SYSTEM. 397 


SN 


both; lateral, in which the deep and middle organs, 
when viewed. on one side of the median line, ap- 
pear to belong to the male sex, while on the other 
they are female; the external organs, as in the 
former species, being partly male, and partly fe- 
male, &c. 

The second class includes all anomalies with ex- 
cess of parts, and is divided into three orders :— 
1, Complex male hermaphrodism, where we find, 
with an apparatus essentially male, some supernu- 
merary female organ, as a matrix, &c.; 2, complex 
fomale hermaphrodism, with the addition of a male 
organ, as a testis, &c., to an apparatus essentially 
female; 3, bisexual hermaphrodism, where a male 


and female apparatus exists in the same indivi- 
dual. 

M. St. Hilaire remarks, that legislation, admit- 
ting only two grand classes of individuals, on whom 
it imposes duties, and to whom it grants different 
and almost opposite rights, according to their sex, 
does not truly embrace the entire of the cases 


Bac se enero E I es ae 
i s EEn : = — ne Ps - -- = 


which occur in nature: for there are subjects who 


na MS etapa 


have really no sex, such as neuter hermaphrodites, 
znd hermaphrodites mixed by superposition; and, 
on the other hand, certain individuals, the bisexual 
hermaphrodites, who present the two sexes united 


Ab En an tel ati 


in the same degree. 
In a remarkable case of this description, which 


a ete na al le adla ailita aain 


Er 


398 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE.’ 


occurred in Paris to Professor Bouillaud, the sub- 
ject, aged sixty-two, a widower, who died of cho- 
lera, was apparently a male; yet, on dissection, a 
matrix with its ovaries was found. There was a 
perfect prostate gland; the testes, vesiculæ semi- 
nales, and vasa deferentia, were wanting; the penis 


had a well-formed glans and prepuce; a vagina of 
about two inches long, connected the matrix with 
the urethra; the external reproductive organs of 
the female were entirely absent; but the general 
conformation (except a thick and soft beard) in- 
clined to that sex. 

M. St. Hilaire and Manee observe on this case, 
| that “ we must distinguish the organs of repro- 
duction from those of mere coition : there may be 
an amalgamation or co-existence of the latter, but 
not of the former.” 

The notice of other malformations naturally fol- 
lows that of hermaphrodism; and on this subject I 
am chiefly indebted to Beck. 

The absolute causes of Impotence in the male, 
or those for which there is no known relief, prin- 
cipally originate in some malformation or defect 
in the reproductive organs; and these may be 
either natural or artificial. 

To this class may be referred an absolute want 
of the penis; the ureters terminating in the peri- 
næum, or above the os pubis. 


VITAL SYSTEM. 399 


In some subjects has occurred an amputation of 
the virile organ. 
There are many cases of the penis being im- 


pervious. 

In an unnatural perforation of the penis, or, in 
other words, the extremity of the canal of the ure- 
thra terminating at some other place than the na- 
tural one, the possibility of impregnation may de- 
pend on the distance to which the orifice is thrown 
back.—A case is related by Mr. Hurd, in which 
the patient had been relieved by complete ampu- 
tation; there was only a very small protrusion of 
the organ on pressure; yet he had, subsequent to 
this, two children. 

The natural want of both testes, provided that 
ever occurs, or their artificial loss, must be a cause 
of impotence.* 

The loss of one of the testes, if this were com- 
pensated by the healthy condition of the other, 
would be no ground of dread. But if the remain- 
ing testis be small and extenuated, or have become 
scirrhous or carcinomatous, or even if the epidi- 
dymis be tumefied and hard, it gives reason to 

expect impotence. 


* In many instances these organs have not descended 
from the abdomen, and yet the individual has exhibited 
every proof of virility. 


ae 3 I ae a - LSS —— : I 
: ED ane e OEE ar pwy Er a, 
feo siege er sii a = pire Chia cacti a a a anaE ee - A 


r eaa ae 


ae DCI is akatia said 


sah ciate lt ht aa 


SS Saee — 


a 


= Se = aN a J = sa = =< 
ae tee. Eidelman s aa aaa ame a aE E 


ee ] 
> 


400 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


In woman, there are various malformations that 
form an obstacle to conception. 

It is asserted, on the authority of Hufeland, that 
the body of a child three years old was opened at 
Berlin, in which there was not the slightest trace, 
either externally or internally, of any part of the 
reproductive organs peculiar to either sex. 

Cases of congenital deficiency of the vagina, 
though very rare, have occurred. 

An obliteration or thickening of the sexual or- 
gans, so as to prevent any access, occurs. 

Congenital brevity of the vagina would seem to 
be occasionally an incurable cause, so far as relates 
to the pain caused by coition, although possibly it 
may not be accompanied with sterility.—Dr. Hun- 
ter, being consulted by a lady in a mask, thus cir- 
cumstanced, told her that she was the most unfor- 
tunate partner a man could have, as there was no 
cure. Dr. Dewees appears to have met with two 
cases. In one, the whole distance to which the 
finger could be passed did not exceed one inch or 
an inch and a half; in the other, it was apparently 
connected with an absence of the uterus, as the va- 
gina terminated in a cul de sac. 

Sometimes the vagina is found thus ending in a 
cul de sac. 

Another cause both of impotence and sterility, is 
a natural or fistulous communication of the vagina 
with the bladder or rectum. 


VITAL SYSTEM. 401 


Fabricius of Hilden, in tracing the causes of 
barrenness in a woman who had been twice mar- 
ried without having any family, found the orifice of 
the matrix schirrous, and closed so completely that 
it was impossible to introduce the smallest probe 
into its interior. 

Ruysch and Littre have observed the imperfora- 
tion of the neck, in opening females who had been 
barren. 


The vagina and matrix have been found closed 


with a dense fleshy substance. 

The absence of the matrix occurs. Columbus 
states that a female who suffered acute pains when 
she indulged in the pleasures of love, exhibited, on 
a post mortem examination, only a slight swelling 
or pad at the extremity of the vagina. 

In these different cases, we can ascertain the 
absence of the matrix by introducing on one side a 
sound into the bladder, and on the other the fore- 
finger into the rectum. The proof will be decisive, 
if we cannot find any voluminous body between the 
finger and the probe. 

It would appear that, though the matrix is want- 
ing, if the ovaries exist, the mamme and the ex- 
ternal characteristics of womanhood exist. 

This occurred in a case where the vagina was 
closed by a thick, muscular-locking substance, ope- 
rated on by Dr. Macfarlane, of Glasgow. ‘The pa- 


402 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


tient died, and, on dissection, no matrix was found, 
but the ovaries were large and well formed. The 
breasts were fully developed. 

In the case of Agatha Melassene, who died, 
aged 27, at the Hôtel Dieu, in 1823, the external 
organs were well formed, and the mammæ full ; 


yet on dissection, no matrix could be found, but the 
broad ligaments were present, containing in their 
folds the fallopian tubes and well-developed ovaries. 

The uterine tubes may be wanting, or they may 
be obliterated either by tumors, or by agglutina- 
tion of their sides, produced by inflammation follow- 
ing excess, abortion, or difficult delivery; and this 
is doubtless the reason why many females are pre- 
cluded from conceiving a second time. 

The ovaries may be so feebly developed as not to 
be in a condition to receive the impression of the 
fertilizing liquid. 

They have been sometimes found originally 
wanting. Morgagni mentions a girl who exhibited 
no vestiges of them. Such too was the case men- 
tioned in the Philosophical Transactions. The wo- 
man’s stature was about four feet six inches, having 
ceased to grow at ten years of age, and she died at 
the age of twenty-nine. She never had any cata- 
menia; her mamma and nipples never enlarged 
more than in the male subject; there was no ap- 
pearance of hair on the pubes; and she never 


VITAL SYSTEM. 403 


showed any passion for the male sex. On dissec- 
tion, the os tincee and matrix were found of the 
usual form, but they had never increased beyond 
their size in the infant state; the passage into the 
matrix through the cervix was oblique; the cavity 
ofthe matrix was of the common shape, and the 
fallopian tubes were pervious to the fimbrie; the 
coats of the matrix were membranous; and the 
ovaries were so indistinct, as rather to show the 
rudiments which ought to have formed them, than 
any part of their natural structure. 

Mr. Pott removed the ovaries in a case of in- 
guinal hernia, by a surgical operation.—Before this 
period, the female (aged twenty-three) was stout, 


large-breasted, and had the catamenia regularly. 
Afterwards, although she enjoyed good health, she 
became thinner, her mammee were gone, and she 
never had the catamenia. 

Such are the incurable cases. The curable are 


very different. 

Elongation of the nymph and clitoris are both 
susceptible of cure, and do not present any ob- 
stacle to conception. Even with regard to these, 
however, it should be remembered that accidental 
‘monstrosities, malformations and changes produced 
by habit and education, either in forms or qualities, 
pass from the parents to their posterity. 

Exterior imperforation may sometimes be reme- 


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died by the surgeon’s skill—Dupuytren in his Es- 
say on Laceration of the Perineeum during Labour, 
mentions two cases. He delivered a young woman 
secretly. ‘The perineum was ruptured, but by the 
use of the suture it again united. Several years 
afterwards, a man and woman visited him: the hus- 
band was unable to consummate his marriage. On 
examination, the aperture of the vagina was found 
very narrow, and a cicatrix was on the perinzeum. 
It was his old patient. He advised patience; and, 
in a short time, the female became pregnant, and 
was safely delivered.—In a parallel case, the hus- 
band deemed it a most unequivocal proof of pre- 
vious purity. 

The contraction of the conduit itself may be en- 
larged by gradual dilatations. Should pregnancy 
intervene, dilatation gradually takes place before 
the period of delivery: this occurs more readily in 
young females than in those of advanced years. 

In a case reported by M. Villaume, the hymen 
was present, but there was merely a mass of cellu- 
lar tissue in place of the vagina; and by an opera- 
tion, an opening was made to the matrix. Dr. Phy- 
sick is also stated to have operated with success in 
a case where the vagina was entirely closed up to a 
considerable distance within the os externum. 

The obliquity of the matrix merely requires 
some management in the act of reproduction. 


VITAL SYSTEM. 405 


After malformations should follow diseases, as 
more or less to be guarded against in choice. 
In men, mutilations, or severe wounds of the re- 


productive organs, carcinoma of the testes or penis, 
and a schirrous or a paralytic state induced by in- 
jury to the nerves or muscles of the parts, are all 
likely to prevent cohabitation. 

Owing to complete and constant abstinence from 
coition, the internal spermatic organs, as well as 
the penis, shrink, and become inert, constituting 
impotence.—As an infant, says the canon law, is 
unfit for marriage because it is unable to perform 
its duties, in the same manner men who are impo- 
tent have no right to contract this obligation. It 
is moreover an act of deceit and felony.—In this 
case, even a desire to live with a fair fame should 
induce the deceived wife to claim the dissolution of 
a contract entered into with imposture and fraud. 

With regard to both sexes, everything that tends 
to diminish the energy of either, as debauchery, is 
at variance with reproduction. 

Thus, in very voluptuous women, conception 
may sometimes have really taken place, and its pro- 
duct be, immediately after its arrival in the matrix, 
destroyed by sanguine and other exhalations pro- 
duced by frequent and excessive indulgence. 

Even a structural change would in such persons 
seem to cause sterility in some instances. Mr. 
Langstaff, in several dissections, found the fim- 


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406 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


briated extremities of the fallopian tubes on one or 
both sides adherent to some of the neighbouring 
parts; and it is probable that a constant state of in- 
flammatory turgescence in the reproductive organs 
led to this. 

Women who marry late in life conceive always 


less readily, and those who exercise the mental or- 
gans severely and continually are in most cases 
barren, while in others they become subject to se- 
rious accidents in pregnancy, because they carry 
all their powers towards the brain, and deprive the 
sexual organs of their natural energy. 

Among the causes of sterility of an incurable 
nature in women, and sensible to the sight or touch 
during life, Beck reckons the following :—enlarged 
and schirrous ovaries; a schirrous or cartilaginous 
matrix; a cancer of the vagina or matrix, owing to 
the pain that accompanies it; a stricture in the 
cavity of that organ; a polypus in the interior of 
the matrix. 

“Where,” says Dr. M. Good, “there is a ma- 
nifest retention of the catamenial flux, after it has 
been once established, producing the general symp- 
toms of disorder noticed in describing this disease, 
it is rarely that conception takes place, in conse- 
quence of the morbid condition of the organs that 
form its seat. 

“‘ For the same reason, it seldom occurs where 
the periodical flow is accompanied with great and 


VITAL SYSTEM. ’ 407 


spasmodic pain, is small in quantity, and often de- 
teriorated in quality. And if, during any interme- 
diate term, conception accidentally commence, the 
very next paroxysm of distressing pain puts a total 
end to all hope, by separating the germ from the 
matrix. 

“There must be a healthy degree of tone and 
energy in the conceptiv organse, as well as of ease 
and quiet, in order that they should prove fruitful : 
and hence, wherever the catamenia are more fre- 
quently repeated than is natural, or are thrown forth, 
even at the proper time, in great profusion, and, as 
is generally the case, intermixed with genuine blood, 
there is as little chance of conception as in the dif- 
ficult flow. The organs are too debilitated for the 
new process; and, not unfrequently, there is as 
little desire as elasticity.” 

Cancer of the mamma, as well as of the matrix, 
when it consists merely of that state of chronic in- 
flammation termed induration, is almost always ag- 
gravated even by the most moderate indulgence in 
the pleasures of love, to which is frequently owing 
its rapid progress and mortal character. 

There exist general diseases which are so inju- 
riously influenced by marriage, that they constitute 
grounds of celibacy. 

Pulmonary phthisis is one of those, of which the 
pleasures of love, as a powerful stimulant of the cir- 
culatory system, must hasten the progress. 


408 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


In women with marked disposition to aneu- - 
risms, or already subject to them, the increased 
activity of the heart must drive the blood more 
forcibly against the sides of the vessels; the lateral 
_ effort of this liquid must constantly tend to dis- 
tend them; and if the effort operate upon a 
part already weakened, it must continually offer 
less and less resistance, until, even amidst the 
transports of love, death as sudden as alarming may 
occur. 

Among the curable causes of impotence in men 
may be enumerated the following :—retraction of 
the penis, originating from stone in the bladder, or 
some other urinary disease; obliteration of the 
canal of the urethra, from stricture or other causes; 
malformation as to the place of the apertare of the 
urethra; a natural phymosis, confining the glans 
in such a manner as to prevent the emission of the 
reproductive liquid; atony of the parts, arising 
sometimes from local disease or external injury, 
and at others from masturbation; inability to pro- 
pel the liquid out of its vessels—this is frequently 


an absolute cause, but generally it is a curable 
one. 


Among the diseases that are considered com- 
patible with the act of reproduction, are asthma 
and the early stages of phthisis pulmonalis. 

In many chlorotic girls, marriage would tend to 


VITAL SYSTEM. 409 


develope the attributes of their sex; but, to marry 
a chlorotic girl of fifteen or sixteen, with a view to 
favour the developement of puberty, and especially 
of the catamenia, is not only to subject her to dan- 
gerous risks, but to desire a wife and daughters 
with similar tendencies to disease. 

A state of exhaustion of the uterine system pro- 
duced by excessive excitement, and added to this 
the most perfect indifference, explain why courte- 
zans rarely conceive. 

In the female addicted to bad habits, the relax- 
ation of the uterine organs, and its consequence, 
an inability to retain the reproductive liquid, ren- 
der all who yield to these habits barren. 

Long-continued heemorrhage, recent prolapsus 
of the matrix or vagina, and even protracted fluor 
albus, are of course eminently unfavourable. 

Narrowness of the vagina occasionally origi- 
nates from accidental causes, tumors, callosities, 
cicatrices remaining after ulcers, or lacerations from 
difficult labour; and in these cases, dilatation may 
be made by surgical means. 

There are many cases of constitutional sterility, 
which cannot be at present explained. 

As the mare that has slinked her foal is always 
liable to that accident, so is it with women who 
have once miscarried. 


Having now first described beauty of the vital 
T 


410 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


system and its modifications, pointed out the suit- 
able conditions as to the age and form of the pel- 
vis, shown the uncertainty of all signs of virginity, 
and indicated those of child-bearing, and having, 
after these generalities, given some account of the 
particular causes of impotence—hermaphrodism, 
malformation and diseases, I now proceed to de- 
scribe those of aptitude for reproduction—the chief 
considerations as to choice which fall under the 
vital system. 

I need scarcely say that, in the first place, the 
reproductive organs must possess a certain degree 
of developement. 

The three following conditions, we are told, may 
induce us generally to expect aptitude for genera- 
tion in afemale: the growth of desire at the period 
of puberty, the eruption of the catamenia at the 
right time, and moderate enjoyment of matrimonial 
embraces. But it is not less truly added, that we 
meet with females combining all these, who are 
nevertheless childless, though married many years 
to men of good constitutions who had previously 
given proofs of reproductive powers, and that,. on 
the other hand, the absence of these three condi- 
tions is not always a certain proof that a woman 


will not conceive, as some become pregnant with- 
out ever having had the catamenia. 


It is a nearer approach to a correct view, to ob- 


VITAL SYSTEM. All 


Serve that “there are temperaments and consti- 
tutions more adapted for reproduction than others, 
in consequence of organic peculiarities and dispo- 
Sitions that it is not in the power of the anatomist 
to discover ; women possessed of such a tempera- 
ment conceiving generally with great readiness.” 

A similar approach to the truth is made, when 
we are told, that “it has been thought that the 
handsomest women are the most fruitful; that 
beauty and health should correspond; that there 
exists an intimate relation, between the perfection 
of forms and the principal faculties of an individual; 
and that the principal attributes of beauty in a wo- 
man seem to depend, by a secret connexion, on the 
circumstances of organization most proper to in- 
sure conception, and favour the: developement of 
the product.” 

The simple solution of all these “undiscoverable 
peculiarities” and “secret connexions” is, that the 
great condition of aptitude for reproduction is the 
greatest possible perfection of the vital system. 

And here it may be first observed, that the lux- 
uriance of the plains and abundance of nutritious 
food are favourable to the developement of the nu- 
tritive system, 

The vital system is relatively largest in little 
women, especially after maternity, 

The chief points in this system are the following. 

T2 


412 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


The length of the neck should be proportionally 
less than in the male, because the dependence of the 
mental and locomotive systems on the vital one, is 
naturally connected with the shorter course of the 
vessels of the neck. 

The neck should form a gradual transition be- 
tween the body and head, its fulness concealing all 
prominences of the neck and throat. 

The shoulders should slope from the lower part 
of the neck, because the reverse shows that the 
upper part of the chest owes its width to the bones 
and muscles of the shoulders. 

The upper part of the chest should be relatively 
short and wide, independent of the size of the 
shoulders, for this shows that the vital organs 
which it contains are sufficiently developed. 

The waist should taper little farther than the 
middle of the trunk, and be marked, especially in 
the back and loins, by the approximation of the 
hips. 

The waist should be narrower than the upper 
part of the trunk and its muscles, because the re- 


verse indicates an expansion of the stomach, liver 
and great intestine, resulting from their excessive 
use. 

The back of woman should be more hollow than 
that of man; for otherwise the pelvis is not of 
sufficient depth for parturition. . 


— enna egret OE EET ATID ak T e AA inn, aaaktae eid atom 


VITAL SYSTEM. 413 


Woman should have the loins more extended 
than man, at the expense of the superior and in- 
ferior parts; for this conformation is essential in 
gestation. 

The abdomen should be larger in woman than in 
man, for the same reason. 

Over all these parts, the cellular tissue, and the 
plumpness which is ‘connected with it, should obli- 
terate all distinct projection of muscles. 

The surface of the whole female form should be 
characterised by the softness, elasticity, smooth- 
ness, delicacy and polish of the forms, and by the 
gradual and easy transitions between the parts. 

The moderate plumpness. already described, 
should bestow on the organs of woman great 
suppleness. 

Plumpness is essential to beauty, especially in 
mothers, because in them the abdomen and mammee 
necessarily expand, and would afterwards collapse 
and become wrinkled. 


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An excess of plumpness, however, is to be 
guarded against. Young women who are very fat 
are cold, and even sometimes barren. 

At the period of the cessation of the catamenia, 
fatness may exist in a greater degree. It is then 
that, in well-constituted women, the fat, accumu- 
lated in the cellular tissue, rounds the outlines anew, 
restores the look of youth, and constitutes the age 
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In no case should plumpness be so predominant 
as to destroy the distinctness of parts. 

In a young woman, the mamme should occupy 
the bosom, rise from it with nearly equal curves all 
around, and similarly terminate in their apices ; 
and, in the mature woman, they should, when sup- 
ported, seem to protrude laterally. 

The space between their apices should be as 
great as from these to the depression above the 
breast-bone. 

The thinner women (providing the vital system 
is good) have a larger bosom, composed of palpable 
glandular masses, not of fat; and accordingly thin- 
ness, with a glandular structure of the mamma, ap- 
pears to be favourable to the production of milk. 

Women yielding much milk are further distin- 
guished by greater sensibility. A narrower fore- 
head, and longer face, accordingly, indicate more 
disposition to give milk, than the contrary form, 

Excess of application to acquire accomplishments 
and particularly music, operate injuriously upon the 
developement of the vital system generally, and 
therefore of the bosom in particular. 

The skin of woman should be fine, soft and 
white, delicate, thin and transparent, fresh and 
animated; the complexion should be pure and 
vivid; the hair should be fine, soft and luxuriant; 
and the nails should be smooth, transparent and 
rose-coloured. 


VITAL SYSTEM. AlS 


What the vital system will be, even though yet 
undeveloped, is very well indicated by Mr. Knight’s 
observation, that if in women, he were shown 
merely a face, short and round, full in the region 
of the forehead, and having what are commonly 
ealled chubby cheeks, but contracted and fine in 
the nose and mouth, he would unhesitatingly pre- 
dict the trunk to be wide and capacious, and the 
limbs to taper thence to their extremities. 

As to excess of the vital system, it should be 
remembered that the impressions made on the skin 
of the abdomen during gestation, and on that of 
the mamm during lactation, result chiefly from a 
large vital system being united with a small loco- 
motive system, in which case, the skin of the ab- 
domen and breast is always too tight. 

It is preferable that the female should give to 
progeny the vital system, which in her is always 
most developed. 

In concluding these guides as to the vital sys- 
tem, I must observe that an irritable and impas- 
sioned temperament is unfavourable to conception. 
So is excessive voluptuousness. 

Chastity, on the contrary, adds to the force of 


love, and to the vigour of its organs, and is a sure 


means of fecundity. Hence animals which yield to 
the reproductive impulse only at the rutting time, 
conceive easily. Hence Lycurgus forbade any in- 


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416 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


tercourse between the sexes till a fixed age, which 
rendered the maidens andromanes. 

Moreover, intercourse between the Spartan hus- 
band and wife, as they could obtain only furtive 
enjoyments, was always attended with strong pas- 
sion and volition. This not only rendered enjoy- 


ment more intense, but generated children strong 
both in mind and body. Nature uses the same 
means for the preservation of nobleness and beauty 
among inferior animals: the most vigorous males 


are always preferred by the females, and the for- 
mer repel the weaker by force. 

This vigour of love, however, has nothing to do 
with morbid passion or spasm. If woman expe- 
riences any spasmodic convulsion, it interferes 
with conception. Voluptuous spasms are succeed- 
ed by weakness and relaxation; the local contrac- 
tion and closing of the matrix occurs less fre- 
quently and less perfectly; and women thus cir- 
cumstanced are barren. 

We accordingly find that the inhabitants of hot 
climates, though of warm temperament, have 
fewer children than those of colder climates, whose 
passions are more moderate. 

We also know that the Arabs race their mares 
till they are fatigued, before they are put to the 
stallion, as it renders them weaker and less las- 
civious; and, in this country, the practice of throw- 


VITAL SYSTEM. A417 


ing cold water over the body of a too lascivious 
animal has evidently for its object to lower the 
erotic temperament, and to produce a closing of 
the matrix. 

Considering this question in its connection with 
pregnancy, it is evident that these frenzies of love 
counteract the views of nature, and are injurious 
to the developement of the foetus. 

Certain it also is, that children born of parents 
either too young or too old, or in a state of mental 
or bodily disease, in intoxication, or in languor, 
never possess the excellent organization, observ- 
able in children engendered under more favourable 
circumstances. 

The first exercise of her new faculty causes 
some remarkable changes in woman. Her neck 
sometimes swells and augments in size: the cause 
being that the brain at this period becomes more 
subservient to purposes connected with generation ; 
the communication between the trunk and the 
head is more frequent, intense and sustained; and 
the neck, which contains the communicating or- 
gans, necessarily increases in size. 

The women of calmer temperament, whose 
placid features announce a gentler and more pas- 


sive love, often owe to marriage more splendid 

beauty; while in impassioned women, freshness 

disappears, and flaccidity succeeds to elasticity. 
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418 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


During pregnancy and suckling, the former 
generally retain plumpness, while the latter gene- 
rally become meagre. 

Renewed conception, pregnancy, delivery and 
suckling, hasten debility in feeble, ill-constituted, 
unhappy and dissipated women. 

Having now said all that seems necessary as to 
the particular causes of aptitude for reproduction, 
—the chief considerations as to choice which fall 
under the vital system,—we naturally arrive at the 
special suitableness of individuals to each other 
respectively. 

It has already been seen that, for the object of 
nature to be attained, there must not be too great a 
disproportion of age between the husband and wife. 

It is necessary to consider intermarriage, as cor- 
recting faulty organization in the vital system. 

Excessive length of body, shortness of limbs, 
and fulness of form, common to our south-eastern 
counties, may, in progeny, be corrected, as already 
indicated, by intermarriage with the shorter bodied, 
longer limbed, and meagre framed northern races. 

As to minuter circumstances in the vital sys- 
tem, it has been seen that the dry seek the humid; 
the meagre, the plump; the hard, the soft; the 
rough, the smooth; the warm, the colder; the 
dark, the fairer, &c.; and that, if here any of the 


more usual sexual qualities are reversed, the oppo- 
site ones will be accepted or sought for. 


VITAL SYSTEM. 419 


Even as to colour, Mr. Knight’s remark should 
be borne in mind.—* I prefer a male of a different 
colour from the breed of the female, where that 
can be obtained; and I think that I have seen fine 
children produced in more than one instance, 
where one family has been dark, and the other 
fair. 

The union of different temperaments and op- 
posite organic predominances, should be favoured; 
but the notion that the bilious might advanta- 
geously be joined with the lymphatic or the san- 
guine, or that a person in whom any organ is too 
much developed or too irritable, might contract an 
alliance with onein whom the same organ is inferior 
to the others in strength and irritability, is founded 
in the error that both parents may communicate 
parts of the same system. 

Pleasure, or, at all events, the absence of an- 
tipathy in the mental nervous system, seems ne- 
cessary to the formation of a new being; and at 
least unity or simultaneous concurrence in the 
vital nervous system are evidently essential. When, 
on the contrary, there is too great a difference of 
character, and a married pair cannot enter even 
into momentary harmony, barrenness must be the 
result. 

We are, indeed, assured that there have been 
eases in which antipathy, disgust, hatred and 
even anger, have not proved positive causes of 


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420 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


sterility.—But, in these cases, there were periods 
of conciliation. 

So also we are told that there are women who 
conceive without any pleasure—But women are 
not remarkable for truth upon this point. 

Sometimes a difference, an unconquerable incom- 
patibility of certain points of character, may render 
any kind of union impossible between two persons, 
who, when afterwards paired with other mates, 
have large families, or who obtain these when age 
or custom has reduced them to relative harmony; 
and hence couples, that have been childless for 
fifteen or twenty years, give birth to children at a 
more advanced age. 

Upon the whole, it appears, as has been already 
said, that of marriages founded solely on interest, 
and accompanied either by indifference or antipathy, 
the results are domestic misery, sterility, or weak 
and unhealthy children, and numerous crim. con. 
actions. 

Place and time, in relation to fruitfulness, are 
next worthy of notice. 


Races inhabiting countries that are moderately 
cold, are generally more fruitful than those inha- 
biting hot climates. 

In a given number of inhabitants, the provinces 
furnish a greater quantity of births than their 
capital cities; notwithstanding the poverty of the 


VITAL SYSTEM. 421 


peasantry, their coarse and scanty diet, and the 
toils of agriculture. 

The poor quarters of a large town swarm with 
children ; while those inhabited by the wealthy are 
almost deserted. Indeed, if our cities were not 
recruited with the surplus population of the 
country, they would soon become dreary soli- 
tudes. 


Observation has proved that the spring and sum- 


mer are the seasons most favourable to concep- 
tion. 

This is determined by the number of births not 
being distributed over the different periods of the 
year, but mostly occurring in winter. According 
to an investigation of the civil registers of Paris 
for six successive years, the months in this respect 
range in the following order — March, January, 
February, May, August, October, September, July, 
November, June, December. 

The months, therefore, most favourable to con- 
ception are June, April, May, July, August, No- 
vember.—It is observed, however, that in the richer 
classes of society in France, who live in the midst 
of all the accessories of luxury, and make winter 
_ their season of enjoyment, the majority of concep- 
tions occur in the months of January, February, 
and March, and the births in Autumn. 


Observation shows that conception takes place ` 


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422 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


more easily after the eruption of the cata- 


menia. Enlightened practitioners now univer- 
sally grant that “a frugal diet and light food 
is equally desirable for children both _ before 
and after birth; and that milk is more plentifal in 
a mother who lives upon vegetables and the milk 
of some quadruped, than in her who pampers her- 
self with delicate and substantial food.” Wine, 
which is injurious to all men without distinction, 
cannot fail to be very prejudicial to pregnant women. 

During this period, it is also granted that women 
who lead an active life perceive scarcely any change 
in themselves, excepting the cessation of the pe- 
riodical flow and a great sensibility of the mammee. 
It would therefore be of great importance to abro- 
gate the custom, so prevalent at present amongst 
females, of remaining constantly idle. 

«The very easy labours of Negresses, native 
Americans, and other women in the savage state,” 
says Mr. Lawrence, “have been often noticed by 
travellers. This point is not explicable by any 
prerogative of physical formation; for the pelvis is 
rather smaller in these dark-coloured races than in 
the European and other white people. Simple 
diet, constant and laborious exertion, give to these 
children of nature a hardiness of constitution, and 
exempt them from most of the ills which afflict the 
indolent and luxurious females of civilized societies.” 


VITAL SYSTEM. 23 


Some important data, however, are here over- 
looked by Mr. Lawrence. Roussel observes that, 
“The women of the Ostiaks have no anxiety as to 
the time of their lying-in, and do not take any of 
those precautions which the delivery of European 
women renders almost indispensable to them. They 
lie-in wherever they may be, without being em- 
barrassed; they, or the persons who assist them, 
plunge the new-born infant into water; and the 
mothers speedily resume their usual occupations, or 
continue their progress if they are on a journey. 
As these people are situate near the Samoiedes, 
and are found between the fifty-ninth and sixtieth 
degrees of northern latitude, this vigorous constitu- 
tion has been ascribed to the severity of the cli- 
mate ... The women however of the island of 

hird degree of southern la- 
titude, are similarly circumstanced; and authors 
discover the cause of this in the heat of the climate, 
which renders, say they, the members of women 
supple and capable of adapting themselves without 
difficulty to the efforts of delivery. We may, from 
this, see how manageable upon this subject are the 
explications derived from cold and from heat.” 

The fact is, that the function of parturition is 
always more painfully discharged in intellectual 
regions than in barbarous ones. ‘Travellers have 
observed this fact, without knowing how to account 


YE 
E, 
Ip 
P 
A 
i 
i 
) 
i 
IE. 


a lana gael saieti. 


ds a si il a me 


494 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


for it. Nay, they have observed, without attempt- 
ing to explain the decisive fact, that, in countries 
where child-birth is naturally easy, it generally 
becomes difficult if the native woman has been 
impregnated by a European man. 

“ This wonderful facility,” say Lewis and 
Clark, “ with which the Indian women bring forth 
their children, seems rather some benevolent gift 
of nature, in exempting them from pains which 
their savage state would render doubly grievous, 
than any result of habit. If, as has been imagined, 
a pure dry air, or a cold and elevated country, are 
obstacles to easy delivery, every difficulty incident 
to that operation might be expected in this part of 
the continent: nor can another reason, the habit of 
carrying heavy burthens during pregnancy, be at 
all applicable to the Shoshonee women, who rarely 
carry any burdens, since their nation possesses an 
abundance of horses. We have indeed been seve- 
ral times informed by those conversant with Indian 
manners, and who asserted their knowledge of the 
fact, that Indian women pregnant by white men, 
experience more difficulty in child-birth than when 
the father is an Indian. If this account be true, it 
may contribute to strengthen the belief, that the 


easy delivery of Indian women is wholly constitu- 
tional.” —This fact is worth a thousand volumes of 
speculation, 


VITAL SYSTEM. 425 


It cannot indeed be doubted that our early edu- 
cation and subsequent life, consisting in thought 
and study, even in the artisan, develope the cerebral 
organs. ‘The difficulty of parturition is greatly 
owing therefore to the increased capacity of the 
head. In Genesis it is said, that God condemned 
woman, after she had tasted of the tree of know- 
ledge of good and evil, to a painful delivery. The 
allegory, if it is one, as St. Jerome and other 
fathers of the church have thought, is beautiful 
and just. 

The round head of the English corresponds 
exactly with their round pelvis. I had long re- 
marked these separately, without seeing the con- 
Nexion between them. The pubes, however, which 
is round in round-headed nations, as the English, 
is prominent in long-headed nations, as the Scottish. 
Hence an English woman will suffer more in giving 
birth to a child by a Scottish man. : 

Sir Anthony Carlisle informs me, that “ Mrs. 


= Wolstonecraft, one of the heroines of her time, and 


an extraordinarily sensible woman, informed him 
that the stories about the pains of parturition were 
excessively exaggerated. And although she died 
in child-bed, the event was entirely owing to the 
mismanagement of an impatient doctor.” 

Professor Chaussier, in solving a question that 
has reference to medical jurisprudence, is said to 


AE Re a Ai Rl et NP RA AB Yc 
aE. OSES ee aaa ‘ d e 


n A E ae 


496 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


have hit upon the idea of examining what point is the 
middle of the body in an infant of a certain age. 
He observed that, at six months, it is under the 
breast-bone or sternum; at eight months, above 
the navel; and at forty weeks, at the navel itself. 
The utility of this examination, if it be well founded, 
is evident, as it would serve to prove whether a 


child is born at its proper time, and, in a more 


enlarged view, to fix the fact whether at a certain 
epoch one portion of the body is or is not in just 
proportion with the rest. This would open a new 
field to the researches of the artist who wishes to 
study the character of each age, and to the physio- 
logist who takes an interest in gaining an improved 
knowledge of individuals. 

A knowledge of the laws announced in this 
work, is of great importance in determining the 
parentage of a child. 

Thousands of doubtful cases occur, in conse- 
quence of the face presenting little resemblance to 
one of the parents, and from other causes which 
may really or seemingly corroborate this one. These 
laws, however, show that the lineaments of the 
other parent will always be discovered in the 
figure, &c. . 

Here it must be observed, that the doubts arising 
from this want of resemblance in the face, would 
much more frequently occur, were it not, that, 


VITAL SYSTEM. 497 


along with the form of the backhead, which the 
other parent imparts, go the common appetites, 
sympathies and passions which bind them together 
as insensibly as surely. This explains why the 
parent is generally most attached to the child which 
is least resembled in face. 

The importance of these laws in the guidance of 
education is not less obvious; for it is evident 
that they not only indicate the capacity of the 
child, but corroborate this by all the parent’s 
own experience, whence he will naturally seek 
eagerly to profit in the person of his child. 

As to diseases, parents transmit to children 
organization more or less developed and irritable, 
and corresponding functions ; and hence must arise 
hereditary dispositions to disease—scrofula, con- 
sumption, gout, rheumatism, insanity, &c. “There 
is more doubt,” says Mr. Lawrence, “ in some other 
cases, as hare-lip, squinting, club-foot, hernia, 
aneurism, cataract, fatuity, &c.; of which, how- 
ever, there are many well-authenticated examples. 
—I have attended, at different times, for complaints 


of the urinary organs, a gentleman, whose father 
and grandfather died of stone.” 

< Mr. Knight (1, December) says, “ Has it ever | 
been publicly noticed that, in consumptive fami- 
lies, the hazel and black-eyed children die, and 
the blue-eyed live? In observations which I 


TE apie Tagan ES 


498 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


have made during the last fifty years, I have never 
seena blue-eyed young subject grow into a consump- 
tion, that is, I never saw a blue-eyed young person, 
who grew rapidly, who was tall and slender, with 
narrow shoulders, contracted chest, and who died 
about the age of puberty. Whether this circum- 


stance has or has not been noticed by patholo- 
gists, the fact is, I am quite certain, correct. A 
man whose constitution has a consumptive ten- 
dency, should therefore choose a blue-eyed wife.” 


SECTION IV. 


AS TO THE MENTAL SYSTEM. 


Tuis system is not to be sought for, at the cost or 
to the neglect of the vital system. “ Powers of 
thought,” as Mr. Knight observes (1, December), 
“ when much exercised, require powers of stomach, 
for if the stomach feels disordered, the head does 
not continue clear.” 

On the other hand, the vital system must not be 
sought for, to the neglect of the mental. “It de- 
serves well,” says Kames, “to be pondered by 
the young and the amorous, who in forming the 
matrimonial society, are too often blindly impelled 


MENTAL SYSTEM. 429 


by the animal pleasure merely, inflamed by beauty 
[that of the vital system being evidently here 
alluded to]. It may indeed happen after pleasure 
is gone, and go it must with a swift pace, that a 
new connexion is formed upon more dignified and 
more lasting principles: but this is a dangerous 
experiment; for even supposing good sense, good 
temper, and external merit of every sort, which is 
a very favourable supposition, yet a new connexion 
upon these qualifications is rarely formed: it gene- 
rally or rather always happens, that such qualifica- 
tions, the only solid foundation of an indissoluble 
connexion, are rendered altogether invisible by 
satiety of enjoyment creating disgust.” 

“Tn the woman possessing this species of beauty,” 


as shown in my work on that subject, “the greater 
developement of its upper part gives to the head, 
in every view, a pyriform appearance ;—the face is 
generally oval;—the high and pale forehead an- 
nounces the excellence of the observing faculties ; 


—the intensely expressive eye is full of sensibility ; 
—in the lower features, modesty and dignity are 
often united;—she has not the expanded bosom, 
the general plumpness, nor the beautiful com- 


plexion of the second species of beauty ;—and she | 


boasts easy and graceful motion, rather than the 
elegant proportion of the first.—The whole figure 
is characterized by intellectuality and grace. 


TE SO RIOR 6 = ie AEE OS epee 
nee A a TY 
Hh ie mS | eteste. Oey 


serei a 


a Viti silanes itl 


430 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


“ This species of beauty is less proper to woman, 


—less feminine, than the preceding. It is not the 
intellectual system, but the vital one, which is and 
ought to be most developed in woman.” 

The first modification of this species of beauty, 
is that in which the developement of the organs of 
sense is proportionally large, and the sensibility 
great. 

The second modification of this species of beauty 
is that in which the developement of the brain, 
the forehead excepted, is proportionally small.— 
Hence the mental system, in woman, is subordi- 
nate to the vital; and the reverse is inconsistent 
with the happy exercise of her faculties. 

The third modification of this species of beauty 
is that in which the developement of the cerebel 
or organ of the will, as well as its muscles, is pro- 
portionally small. Conformably with the smaller 
size of the cerebel, and especially with its smaller 
breadth—its elongated form (the influence of which 
is explained in my works on “The Nervous 
System,” “ Physiognomy,” and “ Beauty”), the 
disposition of woman to sustained exertion is much 
less than that of man. 

Scott describes a subordinate modification of 
beauty of the mental system, when, speaking of 
Lady Binks, he says, “ The sultana-like beauty 
of the haughty dame, which promised to an ad- 


MENTAL SYSTEM. 481 


mirer all the vicissitudes which can be expressed by 
a countenance lovely in every change, and chang- 
ing as often as an ardent and impetuous disposi- 
tion, unused to constraint, and despising admoni- 
tion, should please to dictate.” In this peculiar 
modification, the locomotive system is generally 
handsome; the vital system displays the sanguine 
temperament; and in the mental system, intelli- 
gence is considerable, though emotion and passion 
dominate. 

This modification I have observed to prevail 
among the women of Italy, who, by means of it, 
obtain that command over their lovers for which 
they are celebrated—a command, however, which 
they could neither achieve nor maintain, were it 
not that they blend with this, no inconsiderable de- 
gree of the uterine or, more correctly, the ovarian 
temperament, and every art of inspiring love. 

I have also observed that to men who require ex- 
citement, whether in consequence of cold tem- 
perament or of exhaustion amidst pleasures, this 
modification of beauty has great attractions: the 
slightly offended movement of the elegant figure, 
the flush of the beautiful cheek, and the flash of 


the kindling eye, awake them to life, admiration 
and pleasure. They forget that, of all passion, 


premature old age and ugliness are the sure re- 
sults. 


432 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE, 


To the last of these works, I must refer the 
reader for an account of the points of beauty in the 
mental system; and in the head and face in parti- 
cular: it would be unfair to transfer them to this 
work, 


I will here only observe, that the facial angle of 
Camper shows the developement of the most im- 
portant portion of the brain in the anterior or, as 


Dr. Barclay more correctly terms it, the antinial 
direction, and the proportion which it bears to the 
organs of sense and expression in the face ;—that 
the height of the forehead cannot, without defor- 
mity, and injury to various functions, exceed the 
space from the forehead to the bottom of the nose, 
or that from the nose to the bottom of the chin ;— 
and that the nose should descend in nearly the 
same line with the forehead and with little inden- 
tation under the glabella or space between the 
eye-brows, the reason of which I first pointed 
out. 

I may add, that the skin should be thin and de- 
licate ;—that the mouth should be small, the lips 
delicately outlined, and becoming thin towards their 
commissures, while the under lip should be most 
developed and turned outward ;—that the nose 
should be as already described ;—that the eyes 
should be large and elongated, with irides blue, 
hazel or black, eyelids very gently inflected, eye- 


MENTAL SYSTEM. 433 


lashes long and silky, and eyebrows, fine, arched 
and moderately separated ;—that the ears should 
be rather small, with unbroken curves, and with 
little prominence;—that the cheek-bones should 
display beautiful curves, the teeth form a longer 
ellipsis than in man, and the chin be softly rounded ; 
—and that the facial muscles should be feeble. 

Finally, I may observe, that the whole counte- 
nance should be softly rounded ;—that the colour 
of the forehead, temples, eyelids, nose, and lips 
where undeveloped, should be of rather an opaque 
white, that of the approach to the cheeks and the 
middle of the chin of a slight tint of rose-colour, 
and that of the middle of the cheeks altogether 
rosy but delicate ;—that, from the anterior part of 
the head, the hair should divide in a vertical direc- 
tion;—and that the faulty feature, which is found 
in all faces, and which always exaggerates, should 
be carefully looked to. 

Such being the essential characteristics of this 
system in woman, the best guidance in choice is 
thereby offered. One or two observations may be 
added, as to the exercise, employment and combi- 
nation of these organs in relation to choice. 

It is known that the more any of the organs of © 
the body are employed, the more they are deve- 
loped in size, and vice versd. 

Now, in the opulent classes, the organ of thought _ 

a ss 


434 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


being less employed, its volume gradually dimi- 
nishes, and intellectual power is gradually lost. 

It has further been seen that, when one parent 
communicates to a child the form of the face gene- 
rally and the forehead, the other will be found to 
communicate the form of the posterior part of the 
head; and, while the child has the observing, imi- 
tating and other faculties of the former, it will be 
found to have the passions, acts of the will, &c. of 
the latter. The proportion therefore which exists 
between these parts in the heads of parents, is 
nearly decisive of the character of their progeny : 
if they be feeble in both parents, they must also be 
so in the offspring. Hence the perpetually in- 
creasing degeneracy of aristocratic families. 

Moreover, in this case, the degraded organiza- 
tion is every hour still further degraded by the 
operation of the same circumstances on the child 
which operated on the father. 

Hence the justice of Mr. Knight’s observation 
(1, December), “ Amongst ancient families, quick 
men are abundant; but a deep and clear reasoner 
is seldom seen. How well and how readily the 
aristocracy of England speak! how weakly they 
reason !”” 

This leads to the observation that “there isa 
feeling very generally entertained by literary and 
scientific individuals, that only those physical and 


MENTAL SYSTEM. e 435 


moral qualities need be looked for in a wife which 
render her a good mother and a domestic house- 
keeper, and that a cultivated mind is of little im- 
portance.” But this is a great error, not merely 
because these men being compelled by their profes- 
sion to remain much at home, are obliged, from 
haying no one to comprehend them, to think alone, 
but because uneducated women are sure to com- 
municate lower mental faculties to children. 
Kames very sensibly observes, “ that in the 


common course of European education, young wo- 


men are trained to make an agreeable figure, and 
to behave with decency and propriety: very little 
culture is bestowed on the head; and still less on 
the heart, if it be not the art of hiding passion. 
Education so slight and superficial is far from 
seconding the purpose of nature, that of making 
women fit companions for men of sense. Due cul- 
tivation of the female mind, would add greatly to 
the happiness of the males, and still more to that 
of the females . . . Married women in particular, 
destined by nature to take the lead in educating 
their children, would no longer be the greatest ob- 
Struction to good education, by their ignorance, 


frivolity, and disorderly manners of living. Even | 


upon the breast, infants are susceptible of impres- 

sions; and the mother hath opportunities without 

end of instilling into them good principles, before 
Cz 


ie 


] 
ee oe ee noes a“ 


yon a ie St 


AAI ie NAP a AE ce AO Cn Se py ne 


NN Ne lata wiih ab erie ake OD RAE 


436 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


they are fit for a male tutor.” —Kames, however, 
takes no notice of the transmission of organization 
and function. 

The better education of women is thus of greater 
importance to their progeny than is commonly ima- 
gined. 

Habits and pursuits long followed in families, 
develope, as Mr. Knight observes, the organs which 
they employ. It is important, therefore, as he 
also observes, that the minds of the ancestry should 
have been exercised in some way; and the progeny 
will generally be found best calculated to do that 


which the parents, through successive generations, 


have done. 

Confining our observations, however, even to 
the individuals themselves. Two persons who are 
equally violent, passionate and capricious, are 
rarely susceptible of union. It is well therefore 
that in the mental system, the irritable seek the 
calm; the grave, the gay; the impassioned, the 
modest; the impetuous, the gentle; &c., or in op- 
posite cases, the opposite. 

As to insanity, it must, in choice, be especially 
remembered that if, in one parent, the forehead and 
the observing, imitating and other faculties are 
very defective, and if, in the other parent, the 
packhead and the exciting faculties, the passions 
and the will, are equally defective,—as each parent 


MENTAL SYSTEM. 437 


may communicate either the anterior or the poste- 
rior organs, in this case, the offspring may receive 
the very defective forehead and observing faculties 
of one parent, and the very defective backhead and 
motive faculties of the other, and that the idiocy of 
such offspring would be the inevitable result ;— 
that if, in one parent, there be but one of the 
portions of the head well developed, and in the 
other, neither portion, then there is but one chance 
of sanity against three of insanity or of defect ;— 
and that if, on the contrary, in one parent, there be 
both portions of the head well developed, and in 
the other one portion, then there are three chances 
of sanity against one of defect. 

Now, suppose mental incapacity or aberration to 

exist in a slight degree, in consequence of defect 
or excess of any of the great portions of the brain 
alluded to, and on this it will generally be found 
to depend, the most prejudiced will not dispute 
that, in this case, if marriage be inevitable, its vic- 
tim should have the very opposite structure. 

A little reflection will show that a family having 
either forehead or backhead ill developed, may 
correct this in one generation; while a family 
having both forehead and backhead ill developed, 
cannot correct it in less than two generations— 
that is, by a substitution of both portions of the or- 


ganization, by two successive intermarriages. 


438 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


In regulating the first changes produced, it must 
be remembered :— 

That the forehead may, in progeny, be elevated 
and projected, if a more projecting backhead and 
cerebel be united with it ; 

That the forehead may, in the progeny, be 
broadened, if a broader backhead and cerebel be 
united with it; 

That a round face will, in progeny, be elongated 
and projected inferiorly, if a more projecting back- 
head and cerebel be united with a: 

That a narrow face will, in progeny, be broad- 
ened, if a broader backhead and cerebel be united 
with it; 

That an equality or similar proportion between 
the organs combined in children, is always produc- 
tive of more or less beauty, whatever the size of 
these organs may be, and that, on the contrary, an 
inequality or disproportion between the combined 
organs is always productive of ugliness ; 

That, accordingly, where there is symmetry of 


head, there is symmetry of face, or beauty ; and 
where there is want of symmetry of head, there is 
want of symmetry of face, or ugliness ; 

That thus a prominent backhead added to a 
smaller forehead, always produces a disagreeable 
projection of the lower parts of the face—generally 
of the under lip and lower part of the nose; 


MENTAL SYSTEM. 439 


That, on the contrary, a small backhead added 
to a very large forehead always produces a not less 


disagreeable contraction of the lower part of the 
face ; 

That beautiful parents produce ugly children, 
when the organs in the new combinations are worse 
adapted to each other than in the old ones; 

That ugly parents produce beautiful children, 
when the organs are better adapted to each other 
than in the old ones; 

That thus the mere relative proportion of the 
organs combined in children is a great cause of 
beauty or of ugliness, and there are no exceptions 
to its influence ; 

That while muscular power depends on the 
posterior series of organs—the locomotive system 
in particular, beautiful action depends on the an- 
terior series of organs—the sensitive system—the 
eye in particular, and that therefore these qualities 
must not be expected from one parent; 

That if, in one parent, sensibility exceed volition 
in a greater degree than in the other, that parent 
must communicate the anterior series of organs— 
the organs of sense, the anterior part of the brain, 
and the vital system ; 

That, on the contrary, if in one parent, volition 
exceed sensibility in a greater degree than in the 
other, that parent will doubtless communicate the 


440 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


posterior series of organs—the cerebel and the 
muscular system ; 

That, therefore, by regulating the relative youth, 
vigour and voluntary power of the father and mo- 
ther, either may be made to give to progeny the 
voluntary and locomotive systems, and the other, 
the sensitive and vital systems—though it is pre- 
ferable that the sire should give the former and the 
dam the latter, as being the systems in which na- 
turally they respectively excel. 

That all the differences in the features of chil- 
dren who yet resemble the same parent, are mere 
modifications of those of that parent (those pro- 
duced by the cerebel of the other parent excepted), 
—such modifications as that parent might assume 
under the influence of different emotions—such mo- 
difications as that parent actually has assumed, and 
therefore has in these very instances communicated. 

That, in the act of reproduction, the senses con- 
nected with intellect, the eye and the ear, or those 
connected merely with life, may be employed, and 
the new being may be the product and the perso- 
nification either of mere intellectual or mere sen- 
sual pleasure ! 

That, according to the state and action of each 
of these organs in the parent, will each be feeble, 
moderate, or greatly developed, faintly out-lined, 
delicate, or coarse, in the progeny. 


MENTAL SYSTEM. 441 


Finally, it is frightful to observe the manner in 
which some writers speak of insanity as a bar to 


marriage —A French writer says, “ All agree in 
preventing marriage as long as the insanity. pre- 
sents any character of decided continuance, and all 
recommend it, if in her lucid intervals the young 
girl manifests any strong desire for marriage, Or 
any inclination to unite with the object of her 
choice. [Her progeny, of course, will be as prone 
to insanity as herself.!] The effects that marriage 
will produce on her may be judged of by observing 
the nature of the agreeable impression made 
upon her by the announcement of the approaching 
union. [The man who plays so hazardous a game 
must be worthless.| But if she suffers a fresh 
attack when she first learns the certainty of her 
marriage, I think it would be imprudent to solem- 
nize it, unless her insanity assumed the character 
of erotic monomania, or nymphomania properly 
so called.” [And then the man may hope that his 
daughters will only display their graces in furor 
uterinus !] 

« With somnambulism and melancholy, it is 


different. These two conditions rarely present any _ 


motives for opposing the marriage of a young girl. 

It is more than probable that they will be removed 

by the new kind of excitement this organ receives 

in the varied and lively emotions occasioned by the 
u 5 


ee a Ea ' 


gn a es i hii Nai ass = 


pae 


449 CHOICE IN INTERMARRIAGE. 


married state.” [But they may not be removed ! 
They may recur under new circumstances! And 
it cannot be pleasant to reflect that a man-may any 
night awake to discover that his wife has gone un- 
dressed upon a shopping excursion, or that his 
child is amusing an assembly of policemen on the 
other side of the street by journeying astride upon 
the house-top; for if the portion of the organiza- 
tion on which this depends be communieated, the 
tendency to such disease will as surely be commu- 
nicated. | 

It has been shown that, from ignorance of the 
relative proportions of cerebral parts, and of the in- 
fluence of such proportions over the mental capa- 
` city of progeny, sane parents often produce insane 
children, A fact more alarming can scarcely be 
presented to a reflecting mind; nor can any condi- 
tion more distressing to a parent be imagined. If 
the facts here stated be accurate, and the induc- 
tions from them be true, that condition hencefor- 
ward will not be more distressing than criminal. 


LONDON: 
IBOTSON AND PALMER, PRINTERS, 
SAVOY STREET. STRAND. 


MR. WALKER’S 


ANTHROPOLOGICAL WORKS. 


Nearly ready. 


].—WoMAN PHYSIOLOGICALLY CONSIDERED AS TO 
Minn, Morats, MARRIAGE, MATRIMONIAL SLA- 
VERY, INFIDELITY AND DIVORCE. 


This completes the series of works of which the preceding por- 
tions are “ Beauty ” and “ Intermarriage, already published.” 


Already published. 


IIL.—BEAUTY ; ILLUSTRATED CHIEFLY BY AN ANALY- 
SIS AND CLASSIFICATION OF BEAUTY IN WOMAN. 
With Drawings from Life by Henry HOWARD, 
Professor of Painting to the Royal Academy. 


FROM THE SPECTATOR. 


« Tt is rather remarkable that an object of paramount interest 
and importance in the eyes of man, such as the female form is; 
should never have been treated philosophically and physiologi- 
cally. No one, until now, has investigated the principles of beauty 
in the form of woman, in reference to its uses as an organic struc- 
ture, and with a view to its influence on the individual and society- 


MR. WALKERS ANTHROPOLOGICAL WORKS. 


To Alexander Walker belongs the merit of being the first to de- 
monstrate, that beauty in woman is the outward visible denote- 
ment of sound structure and organic fitness ; and of attempting its 
analysis and classification on physiological principles, with refer- 
ence to its perpetuation in posterity. We cannot follow Mr. 
Walker through his elaborate refutation of the errors and sophis- 
tries of Burke, Payne Knight, and other writers on the philoso- 
phy of the beautiful. Suffice it to say, that he demonstrates the 
fallacy of many of their arguments, by showing that they had not 
in view that there are different kinds or classes of beauty. On the 
characteristics of each of these kinds of beauty and stages of per- 
fection, Mr. Walker descants with eloquent minuteness. The 
concluding chapter furnishes a clue to the observation of form in 
woman, through the concealment of drapery and the aids of 
dress.” 


FROM THE ATLAS. 


“The study of the nude ought not to need defence. Not 
merely elevation, but delicacy of sentiment, is its natural result. 
It affords us pleasure to be able to say that, in the instance before 
us, this prejudice has been fairly resisted. Mr. Walker has elabo- 
rately investigated the existing hypotheses, and satisfactorily re- 
futed the reasoning of Burke, Hume, Alison, Beattie, Payne 
Knight, &e. The work contains a view of the hypotheses of 
beauty in sculpture and painting, as set forth by Leonardo da 
Vinci, Winckelmann, Mengs, Bossi and others, and an attempt 
at that generalization and deduction, by which to form out of the 
sifted remnants of their creed a new one which should be of gene- 
ral acceptation. To this portion of the work, and to the essay in 
the introduction on the religion of the Greeks, our unqualified ap- 
probation is due.” 


FROM THE OBSERVER, 


` “'This is, in many respects, a singular work. It is evidently the 
result of extensive research and profound thought. That it has 
the merit of originality no one can doubt: that Mr. Walker is no 
felon in the case of other men’s theories, is proved by every page. 
Mr. Walker is of opinion that, in relation to woman in particular, 
beauty is the external sign of goodness in organization and function. 


MR. WALKER’S ANTHROPOLOGICAL WORKS. 


Hence he holds that it is of the utmost importance that the female 
figure become the subject of careful study. Tt is sure to be popular 
among philosophers and men of science.” 


FROM THE LITERARY GAZETTE. 

« If ever writer chose an attractive theme, Mr. Walker is cer- 
tainly that writer. The volume contains a vast fund of original, 
profound, acute, curious, and amusing observation, highly interest- 
ing to all, but especially to the connoisseur and the artist.” 


FROM THE COURT MAGAZINE. 

« We have read this work with great delight. The subject is 
treated in a masterly manner. To a complete knowledge of the 
scientific part of his subject, the author adds immense practical in- 
formation, and an elegance of style rarely found in works of sci- 
ence”? 

FROM THE SATIRIST. 

“ We might extend our observations on this elaborately written 
work to a much greater length. The volume has created a sensa- 
tion as well in the philosophical as in the fashionable world. It 
is written with much force and elegance, and a perfect mastery of 
the subject discussed. It is also illustrated with some exquisite 
designs after Howard, the Royal Academician. It is not a volume 
calculated alone for the perusal of literary and scientific men, but 
may be read with profit and interest by all.” 


II.—PHYSIOGNOMY FOUNDED ON PHYSIOLOGY, AND 
APPLIED TO VARIOUS COUNTRIES, PROFESSIONS, 
anp Inpivipuats. [Illustrated by Engravings. 


FROM THE MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 

« This is, in many respects, a very strange composition—full of 
new and recondite knowledge, with remarks the most poignant 
that we have read for many a day. It is, in every respect, a sin- 
gularly valuable book.” 


FROM THE MAGAZINE OF THE FINE ARTS. 


“ Mr. Walker at one fell swoop overturns all the nicely spn 
theories of the phrenologists.” 


MR. WALKER’S ANTHROPOLOGICAL WORKS. 


FROM TAIT’S MAGAZINE. 


«c One of the most remarkable recent publications is a work en- 
titled * Physiognomy founded on Physiology,’ by Mr. Walker.” 


FROM THE LITERARY GAZETTE, 


« This is a very curious and very acute performance. The sub- 
ject of inquiry is one of great, peculiar and general interest ; and 
the author has displayed much ingenuity as well as laborious in- 
vestigation, in the discussion. We cannot deny him the posses- 
sion of high talents, and that his treatise is well calculated not only 
to teach us much, but to induce reflections and considerations upon. 
all the important topics of which it treats.” 


FROM THE OBSERVER. 


« Mr. Walker’s reputation will be greatly extended by the volume 
before us. The system of Physiognomy he here developes is as 
original as it is ingenious; and the author brings much learning 
and philosophy to bear upon it. The work is certainly one which 
has the very strongest claims on the scientific and philosophical 
world. It is avery masterly and interesting work.” 


FROM THE SUNDAY HERALD. 


“ There is more originality in this volume than we were pre- 
pared for: there is also more good sense and sound reflection than 
we expected to meet with in a work with this title. The volume 
is well written, replete with varied and curious investigations, very 
clearly conducted, and altogether free from cant and empiricism.” 


FROM THE GLAMORGAN GAZETTE. 


“ This volume is a rich accession to our literature in every 
sense. The author comes to the performance of his work with 
qualifications of a high order, and has supported it with extensive 
philosophical research, and delightful attractions in illustrative 
anecdote. In a science peculiarly calling into action imaginative 
powers, the author forms his inferences with great adherence to 
logical truth, and supports them with a copious store of learned 
and historical testimony.” 


MR. WALKER’S ANTHROPOLOGICAL WORKS. 


4 


1V.—Tue Nervous SYSTEM, ANATOMICAL AND Puy- 
SIOLOGICAL : in which the functions of the various 
parts of the brain are for the first time assigned ; 
and to which is prefixed some account of the author’s 
earliest discoveries, of which the more recent doc- 
trine of Bell, Magendie, &c. is shown to be at once 
a plagiarism, an inversion, and a blunder, associated 
with useless experiments, which they have neither 
understood nor explained. 


In the “ Report presented to the British Association assembled 
at Cambridge in 1833,” Dr. Henry designates a very small portion 
of the discoveries described in this work (and which are here shown 
to have been made exclusively by its author), as “ doubtless the 
most important accession to physiological knowledge since the time 
of Harvey.” 

By Dr. Fletcher, in his “ Rudiments of Physiology,” this 
work is much quoted as AN AUTHORITY as to the points of struc- 
ture which he considers.—Its opinions, as to REASONING IN PHY- 
sIOLOGY, are, in some instances, made the subjects of extended com- 
ment and enforcement by that writer. —He mentions “ Walker, 
Rolando and Flourens” in the order of actual precedence in the 
discovery of the functions of THE CEREBEL AS THE ORGAN OF THE 
witL—a discovery (first published by Mr. W alker in 1808) which, 
as it also more clearly determines the naturally preceding functions 
of the cerebrum, is perhaps the largest and most fundamental ad- 
vance ever made in the nervous system.*—As to “ THE PLURALITY 
OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM,” he, in justice, places “ Walker” before 
“ Bellingeri, Bell, Magendie, Mayo, Earle, Arnold and other 
contemporary authors, to whom,” he observes, “ we are indebted 
for almost all that has been established on the subject.”—He 


* The objections stated, in the most philosophical and liberal 
spirit, by Dr. Fleming, in his “ Philosophy of Natural History,” 
against this doctrine of Mr. Walker—that the cerebel is the organ 
of volition, have been fully and satisfactorily replied to in the 
work of the latter on “ The Nervous System.” 


MR. WALKER’S ANTHROPOLOGICAL WORKS. 


truly states the case between these opposed parties as to THE — 
PARTS SUBSERVIENT TO SENSATION AND THOSE SUBSERVIENT TO 
MOTION, in saying, “ Mr. Walker regards the anterior roots of the 
spinal nerves as sensiferous and the posterior as motiferous, minis- 
tering at once to involuntary motion, by means of the filaments 
derived from the lateral or olivary columns, and to voluntary mo- 
tion, by means of those derived from the proper posterior or cere- 
bellic columns: on the other hand, Sir C. Bell, Mayo, Earle, 
Arnold, &c. inverting, as Mr. Walker says, his doctrine, re- 
present the former as motiferous, and the latter as sensiferous.”— 
He quotes from the work whose title is the heading of this notice 
(published in 1834), Mr. Walker’s general doctrine as to THE 
CIRCULATION OF THE NERVOUS SySTEM,—though he might have 
quoted it either from “ Archives of Science,” published in 1809, 
or from “Thompson’s Annals of Philosophy,” for 1815—the lat- 
ter preceding Mr. Earle’s publication in 1833 by eighteen years, 
and the former preceding it by twenty-four years ! 

Dr. Fletcher, however, does an injury to Mr. Walker when, in 
defence of Messrs. Bell and Magendie against Mr. Walker’s accu- 
sation of plagiarism, he says, ““ When the term plagiarism comes 
to signify, in many respects, the flattest possible contradiction, 
then, and not till then, can Bell, Magendie, Bellingeri and Walker 
be fairly accused of having been guilty of it with respect to each 
other.” 

Mr. Walker has never accused Bellingeri of any such injury ; 
but Bellingeri has had good reason to accuse Sir C. Bell of com- 
mitting it in the most shameful manner, as irrefragably proved by 
the editor of the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal ; 
though, in reprobation of such dishonourable conduct, Bellingeri 
himself has only said, “‘ Onde desidererei, che almeno in avvenire, 
I’Inglese Carlo Bell ed annunziasse cid che è suo, che pure ha 
molto di buono, ed indicasse quello che spetta all’ Italiano Carlo 
Bellingeri, che pubblico il suo scritto molti anni prima de’ suoi.” * 

But Dr. Fletcher states not the case justly in respect to Mr. 
Walker, when he asserts that there is the flattest possible contra- 
diction between the two doctrines. 

As t0 THE GENERAL DOCTRINE—THE GREAT AND FUNDAMENTAL 


* Storia di Nevralgia Sopra-orbitale. Bologna, 1834. 


MR. WALKERS ANTHROPOLOGICAL WORKS. 


TRUTH, THAT THE ROOTS OF THE SPINAL NERVES AND THE SPINAL 
COLUMNS ARE THOSE RESPECTIVELY OF SENSATION AND VOLITION? 
without regard to peculiar appropriation,—instead of there existing 
the flattest possible contradiction between Mr. Walker and those 
who have followed him, there is not even the slightest difference 
between them: they thus far implicitly adopt his general doc- 
trine—his doctrine, because it was never before suggested as to 
these roots and columns. As, then, this fundamental truth was 
most distinctly stated by Mr. Walker in Archives of Science for 
July 1809, and the dissections on which it was founded were made 
so far back as 1807, as publicly certified by Professor Lizars, then 
his assistant,—as the subject was not at all touched by Sir C. Bell 
till 1811, as he himself acknowledges, when, in a pamphlet pri- 
yately printed and circulated, he ascribed both sensation and mo- 
tion to the anterior roots of the spinal nerves !—and as he did not 
more fully state the doctrine till many years afterwards, when Mr. 
Walker had again published it in Thompson’s Annals of Philo- 
sophy,—Mr. Walker’s long precedence and Sir C. Bell’s fina; 
PLAGIARISM of the general doctrine are quite indisputable. 

It is only as to THE SUBORDINATE APPROPRIATION OF CERTAIN 
OF THESE FUNCTIONS TO CERTAIN OF THESE PARTS, that any dif- 
ference exists between Mr. Walker and Sir C. Bell, M. Magen- 
die, &c.; Mr. Walker having, in Archives of Science for July 
1809, and again in Thompson’s Annals of Philosophy for August 
1815, ascribed sensation to the anterior nerves and columns, and 
volition to the posterior columns and nerves, while it was not till 
fifteen years after the first of these publications, and nine years 
after the second, namely, in 1824, that Sir C. Bell at last followed 
M. Magendie, who, two years before, namely, in 1822, had 
ascribed volition to the anterior nerves and columns, and sensa- 
tion to the posterior columns and nerves, thus making a mere 
INVERSION of Mr. Walker’s doctrine. 

EVEN THIS INVERSION ORIGINATES IN A GROSS AND PALPABLE 
ERROR. Messrs. Magendie and Bell found that, on irritating the 
anterior roots and columns, motion instantly ensued, and they er- 
roneously concluded that these nerves and columns are those of 
motion. They forgot that there is no motion in animal bodies, 
without previous sensation—that their irritation could have led to 
no motion, unless they had been nerves and columns of sensation. 


gaa Ny a EE A =a 


MR. WALKER’S ANTHROPOLOGICAL WORKS. 


They neglected also all analogies ; of which we may here take one 
of the simplest. The skin is supplied with nerves of sensation, 
which enable it to feel’; the muscles, with nerves of volition, 
which enable them to act. Now, if any one prick the skin on the 
tip of a finger, motion instantly ensues. Messrs. Magendie and 
Bell ought here, as in the former case, to conclude that the nerves 
_ at the tips of the fingers must be nerves of volition! Of this, how- 
ever, they would be ashamed ; and they would readily acknow- 
ledge that here motion ensues only because painful sensation pre- 
cedes. Why, then, do they not see that, in irritating nerves which 
are only nearer to the anterior columns of the spinal cord than 
those at the tips of the fingers are, sensation must similarly precede 
motion, and that they are there, as well as atthe tips of the fingers, 
mere nerves of sensation? As to the irritation of the posterior 
columns and roots, or those of volition, producing no motion, it is 
enough to observe, that we can simulate sensation by means of 
irritation ; but we have no means of simulating volition ; and there- 
fore no motion ensues when the posterior gangliated columns and 
nerves, or those of volition, are irritated. Thus this inversion of Mr. 
Walker’s doctrine only puts on record an egregious BLU NDER 
of Messrs. Magendie and Bell. 


Preparing for the Press. 
V.—GENERATION; IN REGARD BOTH TO LIFE AND 
+o Minp. Illustrated by Engravings. 


This work presents many original views ; and it is rendered in- 
telligible to every educated reader.